Consequence
by starryeyedx3
Summary: In your life you meet people, some you never think about again. But some can change your life entirely. Eric has enlisted the help of a witch, Lily, to track down his beloved maker within the Fellowship of the Sun. But somewhere along the line, she breaks her own rules, and with it, her world comes crashing down. Godric/OC
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Quick little hello and then I'll shut up, I promise. This is set around the beginning of season 2, more or less. I don't really know where I'm going with this but if people like it I'll continue. Opinions welcome! I like criticism!

_Disclaimer:_ I own nothing. Bar OC's. Obviously.

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**Prologue.**

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Lily was bored.

So bored she had robbed the dishwasher of its job and taken to hand washing a stack of used glasses she had cleared up earlier from an empty table. She could hear the hum of chatter from the bar beyond this cluttered, broken down kitchen, the usual sounds that came with Friday nights at Wicked. Her night had been uneventful. Sometimes, when it was busy, she was allowed to go behind the bar and help clear glasses and take orders, the pain of not quite being eighteen forbid her from actually serving alcohol to patrons. She longed for something, anything at all, to happen tonight. And half a heartbeat later, her prayer was answered.

"Lil," Danny, the oh so beautiful bartender that had always treated her like a little sister, poked his head around the kitchen door, "there's someone here to see you." He said, pausing like there was something more he felt he should add. "I think he's a...client, of yours."

Lily frowned. She was certain she didn't have any appointments tonight, she had checked numerous times before taking to dirty dishwater. Which only left her with a sharp and sudden sense of anxiousness, and urged herself to approach the situation with caution.

She gave Danny a nod, to which he then retreated back to his post behind the bar. Lily dried her hands on a towel sitting close by, and asked herself who this person was that had heard of her and what she did here. To the people she kept appointments with, it was an unspoken rule that what she did for them here remained classified. Not because what she was doing was something so immorally wrong and shameful, but simply because most people wouldn't understand, particularly with the rumours circulating about her being some kind of psychic. Lily was not a psychic. She was not a Satanist. And regardless of what her neighbours thought of her, neither was Steph, the woman who had raised Lily and her older sister Gwen as if they were her own flesh and blood, and the owner of this very bar.

People liked to gossip, and they rarely cared whether or not there were truth to their words. But rumours like that had the potential to do quite an enormous amount of damage to the life she and Steph had strained to keep within balance. Mostly, because some of those rumours were utterly true.

When she peered out into the bar and scanned the crowd from a safe distance, she found that there was one person that stood out so undeniably from the rest. A man was sitting at the bar with his hands interlaced, dressed in a formal grey suit. Prada, current season. Exquisite. His hair a shock of blond, immaculately neat. What on earth would a man so elegantly dressed, who obviously had the wealth and success to get what he wants, be doing in a bar in New Orleans?

Without warning, his head snapped up and met her prying gaze. Lily stumbled back to the kitchen where she couldn't be seen, but swore she had seen a grin play on his lips, as if he had known he was being watched. Clapping a hand to her head in embarrassment, she ordered herself to get it together, hold her head up high and go out there to meet him, because he had already seen her and she had already made the impression that she was some timid, skittish, teenage girl—which she certainly didn't considered herself.

She made her way behind the bar, past Danny who was whispering something to a girl on the other side of the counter that made her laugh and hit his chest playfully. The well dressed man, whose posture was noticeably better than most, paid no attention to her until she was standing right in front of him, her fingertips splayed lightly on the bar counter.

"Can I help you?" she asked with as much good grace as she used on customers every other night.

"I'm waiting for someone." His voice was rich with charm. Lily raised her brow, amused. He was waiting for her, she already knew that. There was something about him that was so polished and full of charm, that it seemed almost...inhuman.

"Well, can I get you anything while you wait?" She decided to play along with this little game.

He thought about that for a moment. "Yes, a Tru Blood."

Lily froze, without really meaning to, but quickly regained control of herself. As a child she was taught to have an open mind about the unknown. From an early age she had known that the world wasn't all rainbows and glitter and tea, just as much as it wasn't _all_ human. It had never really bothered her to learn of vampire's existence. But it did rattle her to find that one had so purposely sought her out. She could practically hear Steph's voice in her ear: "Keep your guard up. Don't show fear and don't agree to anything that could get you into trouble." So that's exactly what she tried to do.

"We've only got O positive."

"O positive it is." The man replied, fixing a steady gaze on her. She was quick to take a bottle from the shelf and pour the crimson liquid into a martini glass. She set the glass and what remained of the bottle on the counter in front of him, but he didn't seem to take much interest. He was watching her instead. She gathered up the cash that was already on the counter waiting for her. His lips twitched at one end like there was something he wanted to say, and she was itching to ask what, but something told her that he would only relish in that.

"This person that you're waiting for," Lily asked after a while, noticing he had pressed his fingers to the stem of his glass but not once brought it to his lips, "are they expecting you?"

"No," he leaned in closer and spoke the words quietly, "but I suspect that they already know I'm here. This person, I was told she's a fortune-teller of sorts, but I'm not entirely convinced that's the case. I'm told she runs secret appointments in the back of a run-down bar, spends her time reading tarot cards and using spirit boards. Her name is Lily Ryder. And she's standing right before me."

She could feel her pulse begin to race involuntarily. A sudden surge of anger washed over her because someone must have been talking, spilling secrets. How else would a stranger know to find her here and even request her by name? Regardless, lying seemed like the best way to go now, because as a child, Lily had also been taught that there were people out there who wouldn't think twice about taking advantage if they knew the things she could do, vampires even more so.

There was a reason why her client list was a very short, very private, list. She had worked very hard to ensure she could trust those people enough to keep quiet. Tarot cards and tea leaf reading by candlelight was hardly enough to have the town crying witch, but the attention was still unwanted, especially that of a vampire's.

"You don't really believe in all of that, do you? It's just another scam." She tried to laugh it off, like whoever had told him these things about her must have been joking with him.

"Be that as it may, Miss Ryder, but I happen to know the full extent of your potential."

"And what would that be?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

His lips spread into a smirk as he continued in that hushed tone. "That you're a witch." He must have seen her eyes grow wide in alarm because his smirk only grew wider. That was a secret she never dared say out loud.

In a final attempt to protect herself, she lied, again. "Look, I'll level with you." Lily leaned in closer, whispering. "The psychic stuff, it's all a load of crap."

"Is that so?" He reached inside his jacket discreetly, revealing a wad of plentiful green dollar bills. "I've heard that there are certain allowances." His tone was unnervingly alluring.

She let her eyes rest on the money for just a second, tempted. It was true, her appointments were available for the right amount, but the wad inside his jacket was more than she had ever seen all at once. Money like that could do a lot for her, for her family. Bills were piling up and solutions had yet to reveal themselves. But still, making a deal with a vampire went against her every instinct.

"Sorry. There's nothing I can do for you." She tried to smile like it wasn't bothering her, biting the inside of her cheek as she pretended to be interested in the pattern of a dish cloth. He had yet to move from his seat. When he spoke again, Lily scrubbed aimlessly at a nonexistent stain on the counter.

"I'm a businessman, Miss Ryder, and I have a proposition for you. I have no interest in making an appointment to stare into a crystal ball, but your services would be a great help to me. A friend of mine has gone missing, taken by people who intend to cause grievous harm." Her shining hazel eyes glanced up at that. There was a note of urgency in his voice as he spoke about his friend, faint but recognisable. Nobody had ever asked for her help before, not in this manner at least. He continued, noting that he had gained her attention, "My resources can only go so far and I believe that you have it within your power to find him. You could prevent a terrible amount of bloodshed."

She didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. The tale of a lost friend had tugged on her heart strings but she was sure that that was what he had intended.

"Your resources?" she began, "What, do you have a basement full of flying monkeys or something?" She studied his expression for a moment, saw the amusement flicker across his features, like she had reminded him of something. She didn't want to know what was lying in wait in his basement.

"Of course, you would be compensated for your time." His tone was calm again, as if they were discussing the weather.

She weighed up her options. She had the opportunity to help someone in dire need and gain an exorbitant amount of money while doing it. On the other hand, she might die.

But what was it that she had been thinking to herself all day long? She had begged for something interesting to happen, longed for any opportunity to present itself. And it would seem that this was it. In a moment of sheer madness, before she could convince herself to do otherwise, she started laying out her conditions.

"I'll need you to guarantee my safety, that nobody will find out. And when this is all over, nobody else comes here looking for favours." Lily whispered, her palms pressed to the bar counter, looking him dead in the eye.

"You have my word." He was quick to respond, but evidently pleased with himself. There was something eerie about his smirk now. He was getting up to leave when Lily thought to ask something.

"Wait!" she called, "I don't even have your name. How am I supposed to contact you?"

He paused, lips half twitching, "My name is Eric Northman, and don't fret, Lily Ryder, I will find you when the time comes."

He made it about two steps before his eyes travelled to a space across the bar. "You have a shadow." He said without even looking at her.

Lily leaned over the counter to follow his gaze. There was a dark haired girl in a black dress standing by the wall, staring at them both. No, I have a sister. Lily wanted to say, but didn't. Although he already knew so much about her, he probably already knew she had a sister. Eric was half way out the door when she looked back. His glass of Tru Blood remained untouched.

Soon after Eric left, the bar was quiet enough for Lily to leave. The sink of dirty dishwater was her only task tonight anyway. She headed upstairs to the small apartment above the bar, where she, her sister and Steph lived.

It was the kind of place that had been the height of elegance thirty odd years ago but had gone downhill since then. Lily had tried to make it beautiful after filling it with green plants. Her stomach was beginning to rumble and she headed for the kitchen. The light flickered on and off and on again for a while after she flipped the switch but it always did that, the wiring in this old place needed attention. But that would cost money, a lot more than she had at the moment. Lily was rummaging the scarce cupboards for some kind of salty, processed food when a voice called out from behind her.

" I saw you." It was Gwen, her sister, swinging around the doorframe, her eyes glossy. She was high on something. Weed, cocaine, her own power? Lily wasn't in the mood to guess.

"You saw what?"

"You," she replied in a lull, "and a vampire. Talking."

"Exactly, talking. I have to talk to the customers."

Gwen came closer, looked her dead in the eyes, suddenly very stern. "You and I both know that vampires don't just _talk_ to witches. He wants something from you." Before she could rant on any further, Lily pushed passed her into the hallway, heading for her bedroom on an empty stomach. She was hardly in any position to be handing out advice. Lily had been the one to take care of her for years.

"Tut tut tut. Consequences, baby sister." Gwen swung her finger back and forth, "There are always consequences." She was almost singing. Whatever was flowing through her bloodstream was sending her up and down, and for a moment, Lily envied her that. How easy it must be to walk through life so numb to the rest of the world.

She was swinging open her bedroom door when she heard her sister's voice again. "Lily?" Gwen called out.

She turned her head, tired, and in no mood for these games tonight. "What?" Lily's voice had grown weary.

"Be careful."


	2. One - The Deal

**Chapter One : The Deal**

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Eight days. That's how long it had been since Lily had made a deal with a vampire. And now, over a week later, she had no more information than the night she met him. She had no way of contacting him, no way to know when or where they would meet again, or even who this supposed friend was. Eric had yet to tell her anything at all, and she was beginning to wonder if she had made a horrible mistake.

Every time the phone rang she felt her heart rate spike and rushed to get to it first, just in case it was him, just in case anybody would find out what she was doing. This deal, it had to remain a secret. Her guardian, Steph, would be the first to reprimand her for her actions, telling her how dangerous it was to be putting her safety in a vampire's hands, and it was. But opportunities like these didn't come along very often. It was the money that was driving her forward. She needed it. The bank, the bills, the repairman, needed it. She wished she had asked for the money upfront.

It was strange to have to rely on someone else, she was the one who took care of everyone else. Lily was the one who made sure her sister drank enough water when she came home hungover, who made sure Steph had enough to pay the bills. And now there was nothing she could do but wait. She'd have to rob a bank to get her hands on that kind of cash.

But besides tiring of waiting for information to come her way, she was also tiring of trying to come up with a solution. How was she actually going to find this friend of his in the first place? Witchcraft wasn't something that came easily to Lily. English essays, picking locks, lying to get into clubs, these were the things she knew she could do well—as well as the superpower of always knowing when someone was talking about her, as long as they're in the same room. But how to actually go about invoking some unearthly power? No. And it wasn't as if she could ask Steph or even her sister about it.

She had spent her entire Saturday morning scouring through cabinets and oak boxes in the little room at the end of the hall, where Steph kept things from her youth that she'd probably rather keep hidden, witchcraft things.

In a chest of drawers, there was one drawer dedicated to tiny rusty keys in an array of shapes and designs, another full of trinkets and charms and pendants, stuff that could have passed for jewellery or ornaments but most likely had a more sinister purpose. Then there was the middle drawer. It was locked and was the one most likely to hold the very thing that would be most useful to her in this situation. The good stuff was always kept locked away from her reach, like she was still a little girl who had tried to reach for the scissors and sharp knives.

So by late afternoon, Lily had managed to sneak only a mere handful of items back to her bedroom. An old book with a split in its spine, smoothed gemstones, a stick of sage, and a bottle of amber coloured oil sealed with a piece of cork. She hid them in the space underneath her bed, for all the good they'd do. The book might actually have some potential but she'd look through that later when she was sure nobody would bother her.

The day was slow. She didn't have any appointments to keep her distracted. She hadn't seen her sister since the night before, and Steph had left sometime that morning due to business of some sort that she had to attend to. She hadn't been around all that much lately, which served Lily well as it gave her valuable snooping time. She searched through cabinets and drawers, took what she could that would go unnoticed, and hid it as best she could. And when she felt her frustration rise at the lack of objects she'd gathered so far, nothing particularly useful to help Eric, she decided she had to get out and join the real world.

It was one of those especially clear days where the only clouds came from the white trail after a jet had flown by. She took a break and walked down the street in the hot sun, passed downtown restaurants to the Creole townhouses three blocks over. There was a grocery store at the street corner that sold liquor and cigarettes, eggs and milk. The basics at a discount price and the only place that didn't mind too much when she paid in loose change.

A bald man behind the counter had his eyes glued to a static television set on a high shelf, craning his neck out to get a good view, completely engrossed. It looked like the news but Lily wasn't all that interested. She headed straight to the back aisle and picked up a tin of spaghetti, and on her way back to the counter, a small loaf of bread. The man behind the counter didn't even notice her. Instead, he pointed a remote at the set to turn the volume up over the hum of the air conditioner.

"The vampires, as a group, have cheated death. And when death has no meaning, then life has no meaning. And when life has no meaning, it is very, very easy to kill." A man dressed in a sharp suit sat arguing as the camera panned to a blonde woman in another studio wearing a headset.

"Not true..." the blonde woman carried out a counter argument that Lily had stopped listening to.

She cleared her throat louder than necessary; gaining the bald mans startled attention. He pointed the remote to the TV and the screen went blank. He muttered: "Fuckers." Rolling his eyes and gesturing towards the TV, as if wanting someone to agree with him.

She wasn't sure which side he was referring to, but thought it better not to ask. She nodded in reply and he scanned her items. "Two dollars, fifty." She poked through her pocket to retrieve a crumpled dollar bill and several coins, paid and left. By the time she got back home, her sister had made an appearance.

Gwen was sitting at the kitchen table with one knee up at her chest, dressed in a long, sheer black dress from the night before. Her dark hair was in tangles and there was mascara smears under her eyes like she had rubbed her eyes in her sleep, but above all that she still looked beautiful. Gwen had been born with that kind of effortless beauty. She was tall and therefore naturally slim, long legs and high cheekbones. Dark brown hair, Bambi eyes and tanned skin that made her look like a beauty queen.

As children, people would tell them that they looked alike but Lily never saw it. Her own hair was a few shades lighter and her eyes were a shade of hazel trapped between olive green and honey brown.

"Where have you been?" She asked in a groggy voice as she fumbled through a semi squashed packet of Marlboro lights. Lily held up the tin and loaf of bread as an answer before setting them down on the kitchen counter.

The closer she came to her sister's side, the more she took heed of what she was staring down at on the kitchen table. Gwen was leafing through pages of a square book, stopping every so often to slam her finger down on the paper and mumble profanities. It was her high school yearbook. What on earth would inspire her to dig up that old thing? But upon closer inspection, realised that there was a small oak box on the table next to it, one from the dusty little room at the end of the hall.

Lily felt her palms tingle. Did Gwen know? Had she seen her rooting through it and somehow figured out what she was doing? No, she needed to calm down. Acting so suspicious would only spike her curiosity.

"Ugly, ugly, ugly." She mumbled as she brushed the tip of her finger over each smiling face, "Drop out, ugly." Lily was coming to sit on the chair next to her, peering over her shoulder at the grainy, black and white photographs of old high school seniors. "Pregnant!" Gwen exclaimed, briefly entertained before moving on to pass judgement on other alumni.

"Where did you find that?" Lily asked.

"Found a box of old junk in the cobweb room," She called it that because of its thick wisps of thread hanging in corners of the ceiling and behind dressers like mesh curtains. "The door was open; it was on top of the desk."

There had been a bunch of wooden boxes similar to that one hidden away in the back of a cabinet. Lily had set a few out on the floor and on the desk to look through later, not counting on anyone coming in and taking them in the short while that she had been gone.

While Gwen placed a fresh cigarette between her lips, Lily peered into the box. There wasn't much in there: ribbons and sewing pins, folded papers and several smooth stones. The engravings on the stones smoothed, coloured surface caught her eye. Alchemist symbols had been etched with care upon them. They might actually be of use to her.

She heard her sister snap her fingers over and over again, holding them at the end of the cigarette, much like she would a lighter. A small white spark appeared amongst her fingertips and she used it to light her cigarette. Lily wished she wouldn't use her magic so often and for such simple things. Steph must not have been around, because they both knew that she would be the first to chasten her about putting her power towards a better use. Like all forms of power, it was incredibly addictive.

"Where's Steph?"

"Gone out." She took a long drag and exhaled a slow swirl of silver smoke. "Said she'd be back late, took that leathery old book with her."

That leathery old book was a book of witchcraft. Powerful, and something Steph kept well away from the girls. It occurred to Lily that perhaps she wasn't the only witch under this roof keeping secrets, implementing services. She quickly changed the subject.

"Have you eaten?"

"No." Gwen held the red tipped cigarette in between fingers, "Have you?"

Lily shrugged off the question, "Oh, you know, the usual." Gwen wasn't often this sober. She stared at her for longer than necessary, wide eyed and expressionless.

Lily offered to make something for the two of them and Gwen nodded, puffing out smoke through a space in an open window. She made French toast with the last of the eggs in the fridge and they sat on the sofa and ate together like when they were kids. Although, back then Gwen was the one doing the makeshift cooking and she would put a Breakfast at Tiffany's tape in the VCR to watch on an old television that gave them electric shocks when they went near it.

Lily tore a crust to pieces and ate them slowly. Smoke had seeped into the furniture and soon it started to feel like she was eating from an ashtray. She took their plates to the kitchen and set them in the sink. Gwen was flipping through channel after channel on television. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Lily turned on the tap and let the gush of the water cover any hushed sounds as she etched closer to the oak box sitting on the kitchen table with its lid hung open. She reached in and picked up one of the alchemist stones, the sunlight bouncing off its polished exterior. The meaning of the symbol carved into its body was on the tip of her tongue, she had learned them all as a child. Quickly, she retrieved the others belonging to the set and put them in her pocket.

She turned back to the sink and above the clinking dishware, heard a monotonous buzz coming from somewhere in the other room, like a phone. She heard it again a few minutes later, followed by her sisters footsteps coming towards her. Glancing over her shoulder, she found her standing right behind her, staring down at her phone. The light from the screen cast her face in a pale glow. She looked up with a twinkle in her dark eyes.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Gwen glanced down at her phone again to read something. "I was just wondering what you're doing tonight," she said.

"I'm not sure, why?"

Her eyes lit up, and then she asked: "Have you ever been to Velvet?"

Velvet was one of those clubs that attracted young, rich, beautiful people from around the city. Everyone wanted to get in because people who had been there said it looked like heaven on an acid trip.

As it turned out, she wanted to take her there. She said that she had to meet a friend there and didn't want to go alone. Even though she was perfectly capable of going alone all those other times she ventured out at all hours. Lily thought that the whole thing reeked of some ulterior motive. But found herself curious as to what her sister got up to on these excursions. And she had never been to that club before… Before she could voice her answer, Gwen took her silent, non-answer, as a yes and smiled so wide she showed teeth.

They waited until the sun set before getting ready because Steph had yet to come home and Lily was half hoping she would arrive home and claim to need help downstairs. That fantasy didn't last long and she decided she would leave a note for her instead.

They got ready in a hurry, smoothing out hair and dusting the last of the good bronzer on their cheeks making them glow like stardust. Getting ready was arguably the best part of going out at night, like painting on a new face would somehow protect her from the rest of the world. She could be anyone she wanted to be.

Gwen would pull out clothes on hangers and hold them against Lily to see what they would look like. After the tenth or eleventh rejected choice, she finally she gave a look of approval. The dress of choice was short, black and _short_. The skirt was like fine netting, a delicate contraption that pulled in under her chest and hugged all the right places. Gwen insisted on painting her lips a dark maroon colour. "Because it makes you look, like, scary hot," She had said when Lily asked her why she was hell bent on applying it.

When the sky turned dark blue and the city lights began to outshine the stars, they left. Getting to the strip of nightclubs downtown was a simple walk; one of the advantages of living in the city. It was easier to walk wherever you wanted to go and spare yourself the stress of inner city traffic. And they got there in a matter of minutes, it was early, but not early enough. The line outside Velvet was huge.

They passed a line of waiting partygoers and shivering girls in bodycon dresses, and slipped passed the main doors without so much as a glimpse at Lily's fake ID because apparently Gwen knew the bouncer and he owed her a favour. The bouncer was a tall, broad shouldered man with intricate designs shaved into the side of his head, she caught him winking at her sister as they headed on inside.

In this place, the world was a swirl of colour; rainbow strobe lights streaked across dancing strangers like lightening. She was being pulled through the crowd, brushing past people and this one guy who did a double take with raised eyebrows when he saw her. Even though he was kind of sweaty and gross, it made her feel better.

It was packed to the rafters tonight and she could feel the grip around her hand tighten, Gwen pulled her up to the bar and shouted her order at the bartender, slamming her palms to the counter a few times for impact. This was Gwen's world; she was in her element here. Glancing around, Lily saw a group of girls she recognised from school who were hardly old enough to legally drive huddled around a table laughing and sipping on rosy pink cocktails. Before she could make out their faces a red drink in a long glass found its way into her hand. It tasted sweet, like strawberries. Gwen was sipping on a replica.

That night they danced, drank strawberry daiquiris, and melted into crowd of strangers. A blur of people masked in electric hues. Flash of red light. Flash of white light. Flash of green light. People were throwing their heads back and raising their arms because they didn't care about anything in that moment. The people who came here didn't want to care about anything.

She saw a girl sitting on a barstool slumped over the counter, holding a head full of soft blonde curls in her hand. There was a man standing over her, whispering something in her ear as the side of his mouth tilted. His hand was on her lower back—like all men do—making small circles that puckered the red lace of her dress. The sight stirred something within her and Lily couldn't stop herself.

"Hey, how do you know my friend here?" She asked.

He gave her a grin, looking her up and down, "Are you a cheerleader too?"

"Yeah, I am." She smiled bright and persuasive.

"See, my buddy over there is looking for some company..."

"Then fuck off and find him." Lily dropped her smile and watched as his expression changed.

He made this noise deep in his throat somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. She raised her brow and retained her steely expression until he shook his head and gave her this look, like: _'who do you think you are'_. He skulked away holding his whiskey on the rocks. Lily waved goodbye as he passed by just to rub it in. Guys like that were assholes just looking to take advantage of any unsuspecting person they could get their hands on. And who drank whiskey in a club like this anyway? He might as well of some self respect and order one of those fruity cocktails with frilly umbrellas to at least try to blend in with the underage scene in here, since he was planning on taking one home.

She turned to the blonde girl whose eyes were dazed and half closed. There was a vodka soda sitting in front of her, only a few sips away from untouched. There was a pretty good chance that it had been laced with something.

"Georgia?"

Her eyes opened slowly at the recognition of her name, her voice sounded groggy, "Whatever you want to do," She replied.

"What? Georgia, it's Lily." Lily put a hand on her shoulder; half afraid she would fall from her seat if she didn't.

Georgia frowned, "What are you doing here?" She looked around, her hair swishing out of place. "Where did he go?"

"You don't want to waste your time with a creep like that. He's not worth it."

Looking as sad as she'd ever seen her, Georgia wrinkled her nose and looked her up and down, "Who cares? He was going to take me home..." her speech became too slurred to comprehend, "and I wouldn't die a virgin."

Virgin? That was new. She and Georgia weren't particularly close, not anymore, so it was never the kind of thing they discussed when they met for cheerleader practise after school. But she had always carried herself like she...well, wasn't. When Lily tried to put her hand on her shoulder again, Georgia just pulled away. Lily decided to leave her for now. She thought she could come back later to check on her, make sure she got home alright. Georgia didn't live far from here, she probably walked here with someone.

She went to find her sister in the crowd of flashing lights, which entailed walking around and pushing past strangers making out in order to loop around to the other end of the club. A few false alarms later, she saw her, standing with some guy. He looked like he could have been in a boy band with a face like that. Gwen was handing him something, a tiny bag of white powder, and in return he handed her a ball of scrunched up bills. It was painfully obvious what she was doing.

So this was the reason she came here.

Lily watched for a second, just standing there. She was about to go to her and ask her all of the angry questions running through her mind—did she realise how much trouble she could get into if she were to get caught?—but a hand around her waist stopped her.

"Hey, beautiful, I can make you feel alright."

She turned around and saw a man, light haired and unfamiliar. He pulled her towards his chest, smiling. "I don't think so." She pushed against him and broke away. Someone slapped a hand on his shoulder and laughed. It was the guy who was flirting with Georgia. He said something she couldn't hear to his friend and they both smirked as they turned to face her.

"I'll bet you can do the splits," The light haired guy said, his smile grew wide.

"Of course she can," his friend added. "She's a cheerleader."

Suddenly she was in elementary school again, when some boys cornered her in the playground and took to explaining the sensitive topic of her mother. One boy's father had told him that he had known Lily's mother, and that she was possessed by the devil and that was why she hadn't been around to raise her, because she was out and about in the world doing whatever it was that possessed people did. Another boy told her that she was probably going to end up just like her mother one day, and then proceeded to push her to the ground as if he were somehow assaulting the devil. In this situation however, she guessed that they weren't going to push her to the ground and leave her be.

She tried to walk away, even dared to act like it was because they weren't worth her time, like her stomach wasn't churning from nerves. Her head was beginning to feel cloudy from drinking daiquiris on an almost empty stomach. He took her by the wrist and pulled her back. And then Gwen was there.

She was shouting at them, saying everything Lily had wanted to but couldn't think of. She swore in their general direction and acted as a barrier between them, forcing her little sister behind her. She moved in closer and for a second Lily thought she was going to hit him. The look on his face seemed to come to the same conclusion. But all she did was press her hand against his chest in a swift movement, like she was trying to shove him or knock him over. Then his smile dropped.

There was no sound above the music, just a look of panic stricken across his face. The muscles in his neck were protruding and strained because his mouth was trying to gulp in oxygen to no avail. He looked like a fish suddenly exposed and choking on the air. And then all hell broke loose.

His friend—creepy whiskey guy—had rage in his eyes and tried to pry Gwen away. A sizeable crowd had built up around them now, coming to look at the guy who was trying to fight some poor innocent girl. Gwen's hand remained over where his lungs would be and only tore herself away after someone had thrown the first punch. It came from a stranger who seemed to have done it in her defence after realising that Whiskey Guy was clenching his fists in preparation for attack.

Someone must have come to Whiskey Guy's aid because soon things were starting to look like a less theatrical version of West Side Story. Glasses were shattered and blood splattered across faces and arms and knuckles. Girls were screaming and running for the exit as security guards tried to dodge fists and pry angry drunks off one another.

"Come on," Gwen said as she squeezed Lily's hand tight. They could hear the shouts and curses directed their way from Whiskey Guy even above the music.

She was pulling her away in a run, but not towards the main exit. Unsure of whether or not their new friend might be following, Lily glanced over her shoulder every so often but could barely see anything. They headed for the far end of the building where everything was significantly darker and the walls seemed to close in. But Gwen seemed to know where she was going so Lily kept quite. Past some corridor that lead to women's bathrooms and through a door identical to the wall that she never would have noticed was there, they ended up outside in a grubby little alleyway at the back of the building.

Whiskey Guy came stumbling out after them,"Fucking freak, what did you do to Brady?" He wore a look of disgust on his face.

"He had it coming." Gwen stepped forward and there was this moment of silence between them. He was looking at her with angry confusion in his eyes, either because she seemed like she was prepared to take him on or because he didn't know what she was waiting for.

Gwen stood still, only feet away from him, but Lily caught the subtle twitch of her fingers. She was going to do something. Abruptly, he shouted out and held a hand over his right eye. His knees buckled and his shouts turned to profanities. He looked up at his presumed attacker for just long enough for her to see something horribly wrong with his eye. She had to squint through the darkness to make sense of what she saw, the white of his right eye had become dark, stained with blood due to burst blood vessels.

But it wasn't enough to keep him on his knees for long. He staggered to his feet shouting accusations their way, and Lily could have sworn she heard her sister laugh as she took her by the hand and they ran. Whiskey Guy ran too. The incident seemed to have only invigorated his anger and fuelled him forward. Not that it concerned them very much.

It wasn't clear if it was because of his partially blinded eye or because he was half drunk, but when Gwen sprang behind an archway that looked almost invisible in the moonlight, he carried on in the other direction where he would eventually end up at the street corner around the block. They stood there holding their breath and pressing their backs against the damp brick wall, waiting for him to leave. After a while his swearing sounded distant and muffled by passing traffic.

Lily was sure she should have been scared, nervous at the very least. But all she did was laugh. And it started Gwen laughing. It was the kind of laughter brought on by strung up nerves and adrenaline in their veins. It was exciting.

As they slipped past the gate, they had to push their way through the line of tipsy civilians still waiting outside the doors. That night, they walked home in their high heels with aching feet, elbow through elbow, almost as if they were the kind of sisters who were just that close and did things like that every Saturday night.

Lily decided not to bring up the topic of drug dealing that she had witnessed, not now at least. It would have tarnished the events of the night that had lead to this impromptu feeling of closeness. Besides, taking care of Creepy Whiskey Guy was enough to compensate, if just for tonight. Everything else could wait until the morning.

By the time they reached their front door that lead to the apartment upstairs, which stood beside the bar building, behind a tall gate for added security, they were too tired and too lightheaded to do anything but climb into bed and fall onto soft pillows. It was only when her eyes had fluttered closed that Lily thought to check with whoever was behind the bar tonight to see if anybody had left her a message, like she had done every night since meeting Eric Northman. Every night was the same, nothing, and she was too tired to get up now anyway, so she decided against it.

She really should have checked that night.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews/follows/favourites. It really does means a lot to me.

This chapter is longer than I intended it to be but we'll be moving on to more interesting things in the next one! This chapter was really just to establish characters and get a feel for what Lily's life is like, who she is, motivations etc. All of these extra characters are relevant to future chapters, really.

Remember to review, if you have any critique or anything you think I could improve on. Thank you!


	3. Two - Apprehensions

**Chapter Two : Apprehensions**

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The sky was streaked with orange light when Lily awoke. It was early, dawn was only just breaking across the edge of the city, not yet high enough to reach the rooftops. But it wasn't the light that had stirred her awake, it was the noise coming from down the hall. It took a second for her brain to catch up and grasp that it was a voice, a woman's voice, crying.

The sound rattled her and provoked a tightness inside her chest. She couldn't sleep anymore, not knowing that someone she loved was in pain. She crawled out of bed and braced herself for the worst. There were no droplets of blood on the floor, no broken glass, which brought her some relief, but she was met with a much less anticipated scenario around the corner.

"Stephanie, thank you." It was Mrs Dillon, a neighbour who wore her greying hair in a tight, face pulling, chignon. She was holding onto Steph's hand with tear stains along her cheeks and dripping from her pointed chin. "Thank you, I don't know how I can ever repay you for what you've done for me, for my family…"

"You've thanked me enough, Ellen, go home to your family."

She beamed at that. Mrs Dillon had an odd sort of smile, like she wasn't used to doing it very often. She thanked her again before leaving, and Lily saw her guardian exhale heavily and rub her eyes. She looked utterly exhausted. Her eyes darted in Lily's direction and she shot her a look, a '_you shouldn't have seen that_' look. Lily had made no attempt to hide herself, she hadn't thought it necessary, and now found herself rooted to the spot like a deer caught in the headlights.

Steph had disapproval written all over her face and bags under her eyes. As she stepped closer she saw that her russet skin appeared sallow, a dullness to her eyes.

"You didn't see anything, do you understand?" she said.

Lily nodded eagerly. One thing she was sure of was that she didn't want to get on her bad side. If Steph wanted to keep something hidden, then it was probably best to let it lie. Steph rubbed the side of her head wearily.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked, reaching out to touch her arm. Steph only nodded and pasted a smile on her face with great effort. "What was she thanking you for?"

Steph paused, pursed her lips tight in contemplation. Lily knew she was pushing it but thought that because of what she had walked in on, her guardian may change her mind.

"I'm telling you this because I know you can handle it, I trust you. Ellen Dillon came to me a few weeks back, told me that her grandson was sick, really sick. He had only weeks to live and she was desperate, so she asked for my help. And now, he's not sick anymore."

That didn't leave much room for doubt, it seemed so obvious to Lily now what she had done and why she had come home so worn out. She had performed some sort of incantation on a child, a healing spell, and a powerful one at that. But she had always told her and her sister that that sort of magic was against the rules, warning them that that magnitude of power strong enough to bring a person back from the brink of death was something they should never attempt because it could very well send them over the edge. It explained why Steph was so very drained.

"You saved him." She heard the awe in her own voice. But Steph didn't seem to see it that way.

"No, don't you think like that," she had a firm grip on Lily's shoulders, "It's dangerous, you don't want that kind of life. I won't let you end up like…" Steph stopped herself, regained a calm demeanour. Nobody ever spoke about _her_ anymore. "I worry about you and Gwen. Promise me you won't get involved in that dark magic, not for anyone. Not for a person and never for a vampire."

Lily swallowed, hard.

"Promise me," she insisted.

"I promise." Lily's voice was meek, guilt was churning her stomach.

Steph moved her hand from her shoulder and ran it softly over the side of Lily's face, over cheekbones and taught tan skin. She leaned in and kissed the top of her forehead. Sometimes she had these incredibly motherly moments, the kind that made her forget that they had no biological ties. Steph headed for her bedroom not long after that, leaving Lily alone and guilt ridden.

Her mind was racing as she tried to wrap her head around her guardian's words. Normally, lying was something that she could handle, she did it on a daily basis justs to get through the day. But lying to Steph left her with a knot in her stomach. She didn't want to betray her trust like that but at the same time was trying to convince herself that she was doing it for her own good. Maybe something good could come out of helping Eric Northman, maybe it could change her life. Considering she ever saw him again.

Her body felt heavy, she couldn't keep her eyelids open any longer. She shifted back to bed and wrapped herself underneath the sheets, before she knew it she was succombing to sleep. By the time she woke up her body felt rested, her mind clearer. Her throat was dry and screamed for water so she got up to retrieve one. She thought that by looking out of her bedroom window she could tell the time of day but the sky was no lighter. If anything it seemed like sundown was fast approaching. That couldn't be right, she couldn't have slept the entire day away. Then why was the moon out bright and bold to replace the sun?

The clinking of pottery and glass caught her attention before she could dwell on her sleeping patterns. Either she had a burglar who enjoyed household chores or she was unexpectedly not home alone. In the kitchen she found her sister awake and surprisingly alert, standing over the sink doing dishes. Something was wrong. The way her stance was faced so perfectly from her view, never glancing behind or moving very much at all.

Lily came closer to stood at her side. A ring of deep purple flesh around her sister's throat made her gasp.

"Holy shit," she muttered, stepping closer to examine the extent of the injury. There were small indentations along the side of her jaw like she had struggled, like someone had held her face with such force that their fingernails punctured the skin. Gwen's eyes dropped to the floor, her head turning away from the unwanted attention.

"What happened?" She sounded like a parent, asking a question like that.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it? Are you serious?"

"Yes, Lily, I'm serious. It's none of your business so don't get involved."

Her mind jumped to the assumption that this was most likely a result of her very illegal activities. "Is this about the guy you were dealing to at the club last night, did he do this to you?" Lily asked with concern.

Gwen narrowed her eyes at her, "How do..."

"I saw you."

"No, it wasn't him." She sighed, long, deep and tired, while leaning back against the kitchen counter. "I have a supplier, this guy in this crappy little town, Bon Temps. But he hasn't been answering my calls lately so I started asking around and...well, I shouldn't have."

"So someone came after you?"

Gwen clenched her jaw, "More like something," she mumbled.

Lily understood what she meant in an instant; she had gotten on the wrong side of a vampire, and all because of a small town drug dealer.

She needed to hear her actually say the words, "When you say supplier…"

"He's a V dealer." And that confirmed her worst fears. Gwen must have taken notice of the look on her face a she continued in an attempt to defend herself, "Before you ask, I'm not on V, alright. I just sell the stuff."

Lily realised she had been grinding her teeth. She clenched her jaw before asking: "Who is this guy, your dealer, I mean?" No matter what the answer, it wouldn't change anything, it wouldn't put her mind at ease.

"You don't need to know that, you shouldn't need to know any of this. This stays between us, okay?"

"Okay."

Her sister glared at her with a stern quality in her dark eyes that were usually glazed over with intoxication. She nodded before Gwen left the room.

Lily wouldn't have said anything anyway, she knew better than anyone how to keep a secret. And that thought brought her back to the subject of Eric Northman. It seemed that all she was doing was harbouring secrets, and that burden rested intolerably heavy on her chest. She wondered if Eric were ever going to contact her. Perhaps he had decided he no longer wanted her help, or had forgotten… No, vampires probably didn't forget so easily, particularly not pacts they made with witches.

Once again, Steph's words rang through her memories. She had this way of making the world simply seem too big for a little girl, all big and bad and dangerous, and she very well might be right about that, about everything. But how could Lily know for herself when she had yet to live in that world? Sometimes she felt so wrapped up in cotton wool she thought it might get stuck in her lungs and suffocate her. By birthright she was a witch, so shouldn't that already give her some sort of claim to just naturally lead an interesting life?

The world was potentially a very dangerous place, she knew that. And yet the notion of danger set her heart racing because there had to be some excitement in the world more thrilling than using fake IDs to buy liquor or get into boring bars, didn't there? There had to be something _more_.

She couldn't stand it anymore, being trapped there in that house with just her mind and her inner turmoil to keep her company. She had to get out.

Throwing on the first shirt she could find and tugging on blue jeans, she left. It had barely crossed her mind that the sun had set and the sky was turning dark blue. There had been an assembly in school since the vampires came out of the coffin about the dangers of stepping out alone after sundown in the city, everyone was expected to be on guard after dark, just in case.

Lily crossed her arms across her chest and started walking. Music from the bar was drumming through the doors as she passed by, streetlights were already gleaming down upon the bustling sidewalk. And then came Danny stumbling through the doors like he had ran to get to her before she passed by.

"Lil," the bartender wore a brief look of startlement on his face, "I have something for you."

"Can't it wait?" she pleaded.

"No, I gave him my word."

He fished out a folded piece of paper and held it out to her. It had her name written on it in calligraphy, and as she opened it saw the same script on the inside spelling just one word: _Soon_.

"It's from your friend. You know, that guy in the suit. He came by last night asking for you." Danny said the words carefully in a hushed tone as she shoved the paper in her pocket.

It didn't take a genius to work out who the message was from. Eric Northman had finally decided to pay her a visit. He could have just called, it would have saved him the bother. Lily thanked him and let him return to his job before continuing down the pavement.

There weren't many places she could go besides cafes and restaurants, and then she remembered the sight of her sister with bruises tracing her neck and who had put them there. A new vampire problem had unravelled at her feet and she needed to do something about it. Gwen had no problem taking care of herself against humans, that was evident from the night before, but against vampires? That might just be out of her league. So she found herself crossing street after street to get to Home Depot.

Without a second glance she headed straight to the nuts and bolts aisle, where she collected a handful of sterling silver screws. One of the things that had stuck out to her during that assembly in school was how the speakers had said that vampires were intolerable to silver, that it was the equivalent to pepper spray to them. She hadn't been paying much attention to anybody else around her, she had no reason to, and when she felt a disturbance in the air she thought nothing of it. But as she turned to head for the cash register, she jumped, almost dropping the screws in her hands. All because of the tall, blond vampire standing close enough to reach out and touch.

"Good evening, Miss Ryder." His smile was tilted at one side, "I've been assured you would retrieve my message."

"Yes," her mind went to the crumpled piece of paper in her pocket, "I got it."

Eric looked down at the collection of metal in her grasp, "DIY project?" he mused.

"You could say that." She started to walk away to the counter but he stopped her, stepping in her way.

"I came to speak with you. We have much to discuss." His expression had gained urgent, humourless did have quite a lot yet to tell her, it just came as a surprise to her that he chose now, in the middle of Home Depot. He paced further down the deserted aisle as Lily followed, awkwardly deciding to hold onto the screws.

"You'll be required to leave for Dallas tomorrow," he said.

"Out of the state? By tomorrow?" She hadn't meant it to sound like a question but did so due to astonishment.

"Yes, is that a problem?" His tone proved uninterested.

"It's just...I have school." The moment she said it out loud, her voice turned meek, it felt like such a stupid excuse despite it's truth.

"I'm sure you will think of something."

"If you already know where your friend is, then why do you need me?"

"Because I need a more specific answer, I trust you can provide that. You'll meet my associates. The rest will be explained upon arrival."

"But I need more information than that." She was half afraid to ask, in case it struck a nerve. "I mean, I don't know anything about this friend."

Eric held a steady gaze before answering, "His name is Godric, a highly respected vampire much older and stronger than you could imagine," he replied.

She already had an image forming in her head: some wise old man with deep creases in his skin and a long white beard flowing down to the ground. Evidently he was someone who meant a great deal to Eric, to go to such lengths to find him, it was admirable. But she still got the sense that there were things he wasn't telling her. So far she only knew the basics.

"Godric," she muttered, not even really meaning to say it out loud, just thinking of how she had never heard the name before. Something changed in Eric's expression, like it unsettled him but it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared.

"A car will arrive to bring you to the airport tomorrow evening." There was something strained about Eric's expression now. "Until then, Miss Ryder."

She wasn't used to being referred to so formally. He was beginning to walk away when Lily called after him. "Goodbye...Mr Northman."

He was gone as soon as she looked up from the pile of sterling silver in her palms, leaving her contemplating who Godric was. If he was as strong and wise as Eric was leading her to believe he was, then how had he gone missing?

The entire thing left her feeling unnerved. She had agreed to leave the state with a vampire she hardly knew on the premise of finding a lost friend. And all for money, if she were to ever get it. It was not a smart decision but there was a part of her that knew she could handle it. Lily might be the vain brunette girl who hid herself underneath makeup and the illusion that came with being on the cheer squad, but beneath all of that she had generations worth of power flowing within her. At the end of the day, she was still a witch.


	4. Three - Booze For Dolls

**Chapter Three : Booze For Dolls**

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"There she is, that's the one."

"Did you see her?"

"She doesn't have a scratch on her."

The whispers of strangers, people she barely spoke to and those she had known since elementary school. They stopped and stared as she walked passed and pretended not to hear, keeping her eyes trained on a far away spot on the wall because this was high school. The rumours and the sidewards glances and the insignificant gossip was to be expected.

The only difference being that today she was left in the dark as to the root of this weeks rumour. She thought that she would let them have their moment and enjoy their turn to whisper behind her back, because usually things were the other way around. She knew how things worked, how to be heard and noticed. In this place she became some other girl who didn't have to to take care of anybody or follow anybody elses rules. She was well aware of her reputation. She had set out to become someone untouchable and unattainable a long time ago, even if that could only happen within these walls it was still better than the cold reality of the burden she carried at home.

It would be third period by the time she would find out the truth, after taking a seat next to Alexis Trigg in history. Alexis could be considered a friend. She was terribly naive and had a tendency to ramble but she could be trusted more than most. When Lily asked her about the whispers every time she entered a room, she simply said: "It's the fight, they're talking about the fight. At Velvet. The one you started."

And as the day dragged on she found that the majority were more than willing to believe it. Most of them weren't even surprised, like they had come to expect it from her, the troublemaker. They were under the impression that she was some kind of party girl. She really didn't venture out into the inner city's nightlife very often, she had only been to that club once and it was short lived, which got her thinking, who had seen her there long enough to twist around what really happened?

People kept coming to her with questions, asking through sly grins and shiny white teeth in a way that made her think of wild animals snarling at their chosen prey. The stories changed from person to person but the general consensus seemed to be gangs, and that Lily was somehow involved or knew them, some thought that she started the whole thing. And she tried denying it at first, telling them that it was pure coincidence that she was there that night—because they didn't need to know about perverts or witch related attacks—but nobody seemed to be listening.

She could feel herself drifting away because it all seemed so trivial to her now. Her mind was elsewhere and her high school drama paled in comparison. Tonight, in a matter of hours, she would be expected to board a plane with strangers and find a vampire that nobody else seemed capable of locating. No pressure. She worried about meeting Eric's _associates,_ if they too would be vampires, if she wasn't able to find Godric, and if she was. If she would be caught out in a lie before getting to Dallas, and if she actually managed to get away with it. All in all, she couldn't wait to get out of there, get going, stop worrying over everything that could go horribly wrong, and just get it over with already.

The day slipped by too quickly, it was monotonous. Insipid classes followed by dull people. All they seemed to want to talk about was the fight at the club and how much of a badass it made Lily seem to have been caught up in it all.

She only saw Georgia once where they spoke in passing through the halls, and she wanted to mention something about the night everybody was talking about, she wanted to tell her that she hadn't told anyone about what she had seen or who she had found her with. But when she tried to breach the subject, Georgia snapped and hissed at her to never talk about it ever again.

More than anything, she just seemed embarrassed, and Lily assured her that she wouldn't before she skulked away.

She told her teachers that she was going away for a few days for a funeral of a relative in Dallas. They didn't ask any more questions presumably out of sensitivity. Nobody ever doubted the funeral excuse, they didn't seem to care much either which worked out well because it meant that the school wouldn't care to contact her guardian checking for holes in her story.

Something strange happened on her way home though. She was squinting against the sunlight when she saw him walking side by side with one of the middle aged math teachers. He looked like…Creepy Whiskey Guy? She wasn't sure at first, faces from that night had been half hidden in strobe lights, but as he rounded the corner she saw his bloodstained eye. It was only for a split second and then he was gone. He looked younger in the daylight, barely mid twenties. But it _was_ him. What was he doing here? The answer was agonisingly obvious. He must have become a new teacher here, a sub maybe. Of course someone who had hit on an underage girl and been supernaturally attacked by her sister would end up in her high school. Creeps like that seemed drawn to her. But she he would have to wait, she couldn't deal with that now. She had enough to worry about.

When she got home she found her sister lying in an armchair in a bathrobe staring blankly at the TV. The air reeked of smoke and ash. Lily went to kneel by her side just to assure herself that she was still breathing. Her hair was wet and dripped on the cushions.

Gwen groaned, annoyed, and pulled away when she put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't look up as Lily tried to speak to her and that started her worrying. She had to leave any minute, there wasn't time for her sister to fall apart and certainly no time to fix it.

"Gwen, I need you to listen to me. I have to leave now, like right now."

"Your school thing…"

"Yeah, that's right." The excuse she had given her family had been that a small group of students were going on a short trip away for a few days. She had more details planned out in her head but nobody had asked. And why would they? She was the easy one, the responsible one that never gave Steph any trouble. What reason would they have to question her?

The tarnished skin along Gwen's throat had become deeper in colour through the slow healing process, and thinking about how it had come to be there made her apprehensive. If whoever had hurt her returned while Lily was away she would never forgive herself. For a second she thought about not getting on that plane to Dallas, but soon shook that idea from her mind. She kept reminding herself that she was doing this for them, for her family, and if she cancelled now who knew what kind of havoc Eric would unleash. She had made a commitment and had to see it through.

"Look, if anything happens, anything at all, I want you to call me, text me, anything. I'll be home before you know it, okay?

"Okay," Gwen whispered in a raspy voice.

It didn't feel right to leave her there in that state but it wasn't like she had much choice. Lily gathered her case from her bedroom and called her goodbyes from the hallway, but as she did

there was a rustling of movement, followed shortly by her sister's voice.

"Wait." She stood in front of her with a lump of metal poking out of her balled up fist which as she opened, revealed itself to be a talisman. A good one with a tiger eye crystal etched in its center. Lily had no idea where she had gotten it but it was being presented to her like a gift. "To keep you safe," Gwen said as she held of out flat on her palm.

The gesture was pure and touching, she was sure to thank her for it before she left. The vacant look in her sister's expression stuck in her mind as she dragged her case down the stairs and through the front door onto the streets, where the driver of a shiny black car with blacked out windows was waiting.

He took care of her case, opened the back seat door for her and nodded behind his sunglasses, and as they pulled away she watched her home disappear out of view, hoping that she was doing the right thing. The driver barely spoke to her during the ride which she didn't mind, not like taxi drivers in the inner city who tried so hard to make idle conversation like the silence would substantially lessen their tips. It was all so professional. And expensive, she assumed.

The sky was its darkest blue and had turned starless from a heavy mist of clouds. In the back seat she found herself twirling the coin-like talisman through her fingers almost subconsciously, fretting because the situation was out of her control, there was nothing she could do but wait. The pad of her thumb trailed the symbol etched onto the metal as if to absorb any luck or protection it had to offer, and she needed all the luck she could get.

At the airport, after taking her luggage for loading, she was ushered into the gate lounge because the plane had been delayed for departure for the past hour. There, sitting side by side, was a girl with her hair worn in red ringlets and pale ribbons, another with sun bleached blonde tresses framing her small face, and beside her a stern man holding her hand which only accentuated his notable pallor. The three of them looked like the family that belonged on glossy magazine pages, fresh faced and beautiful, and when they turned their heads to look at her she more out of place than ever.

The red headed girl was the first to speak. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Jessica!" The man reprimanded her from his seat.

The blonde woman managed a polite smile and stood to greet her, smoothing down her pretty sundress before holding out her hand. "Hi there, I'm Sookie Stackhouse. I'm sorry about that, and I don't mean to be rude, but are you flying with us? To Dallas, I mean?" Lily took her hand and thought that Sookie held onto her for a moment too long. Strange.

"Yes, I think so. I'm Lily."

"Yes, Eric informed me that another would join us," the dark haired man informed her.

"You never told me that, Bill," Sookie said.

"It was very last minute," he defended.

Following their little spat Jessica sat and stared intently at Lily, unflinching even as Sookie took to exchanging pleasantries and introduced Bill and Jessica who she explained were, as she had suspected, vampires. Soon someone from the airline came to inform them that their flight was prepared for boarding and apologized for the delay. Bill and Jessica were brought away to the airline's coffins while Lily and Sookie were guided towards to the gate in the opposite direction. The small rows of on board seating reserved for human passengers were more like a private jet than a commercial airline, probably because the airline was vampire oriented and only occasionally catered to any humans that may accompany them.

As Lily buckled herself into her seat she found herself contemplating why Eric had chosen these people to find Godric. It made sense to have two vampires searching for another but the girl, Jessica, seemed so much younger in mentality and appearance. And why Sookie, who was undeniably human. The more she thought about it the more she had convinced herself that they must have had some sort of secret weapon that urged Eric to send them on the trip. After all, she probably didn't give anybody the impression she was of any importance, least of all a threat to anybody.

Half an hour had gone by and their plane was still firmly on the ground. "Fuel issues," the cabin crew had said as they brought complimentary beverages to them while they waited. Sookie got the good stuff, four tiny glass vodka bottles while Lily sipped on her fourth soda. Every so often Sookie would look over at her, watchful and intent like she was listening carefully to something Lily had yet to vocalise. She put it down to the vodka.

"Do you know Eric well?" Sookie asked after a while.

Lily looked over and saw that she was clutching onto an empty miniature bottle, "No," she replied.

"How did he rope you into all of this?"

Money, that was the real reason. She wanted to ask Sookie if that was the real reason that she was here too, but was unsure of how she might take it and decided that perhaps it wouldn't make for a great start to offend someone she might need at a later stage in Dallas.

"He's paying you?" She came out with the word before Lily could think of anything else.

"Yeah, you too?"

Sookie giggled, "That's just the way he is. When he found out about what I…" she stopped herself and looked away. She was proving to be a very strange person.

One of the cabin crew came along to apologize for the delay and reimburse them with more beverages. The rumble of the engines roaring to life startled her even though she had been listening out for them, trying to prepare herself. There wasn't a lot in this world that really scared her but being trapped in a steel tube thirty thousand feet up in the air did.

And it hit her very suddenly that this was really happening, and that there was no going back. She could feel her heart start to race and closed her eyes and dug her fingernails into the armrests, focussing on taking slow shallow breaths. Sookie must have taken notice because she slipped one of the tiny bottles in her direction. "Takes the edge off," she said.

There were knots in her stomach and heat on her palms, so with shaky hands she poured the drink into her half empty soda can before anyone could see. The drink had taken no effect after what she guessed to be too much adrenalin flooding her system. They were some thousand feet up through the clouds when they spoke again.

"You're very pretty." Sookie said abruptly, influenced by complimentary drinks.

Lily gawked, "Thank...you?"

"I just mean you're so young you can't be out of high school, and here you are. I thought that if Eric was going to send anybody else it would be some big burly guy."

She had a point, but at the same time she wasn't particularly tough looking either. Sookie was dainty and tiny and blonde. Why was she here at all?

"Lily, don't take this the wrong way, but _what_ are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"There is something, isn't there? Something special about you that caught Eric's eye."

Lily narrowed her eyes, "You make it sound like you know the feeling."

"I suppose I do," the blonde watched her carefully, "I'm not exactly what most people would call normal."

Lily nodded slowly, things were starting to make more sense. Eric had recruited her for that exact reason, why not Sookie.

"I'm not entirely normal either." Lily said quietly.

Sookie smiled, the news seemed to be a comfort to her. It was to Lily too. Minutes turned to hours and by the time she felt the aircraft tip into dissension it felt as though half of her life had passed her by. Sookie seemed unfazed by it all, giddy if nothing else. The complimentary drinks had gone straight to her head because when the doors opened and she clung to the railing for balance, she actually called: "you-who" to the limo driver awaiting with a sign in his grip reading: Compton party.

"That's us," Sookie chirped as she went towards the driver, "I've always loved these things, they're like booze for dolls. They gave me ten."

They gave her eleven but she drank ten. Lily savoured the moment her feet touched solid ground and filled her lungs with cold air. Sookie was making small talk about their delay, and as she slowly paced to her side she become increasingly aware of the distracted look on the bald man's face. His eyes kept darting back and forth between Sookie and the approaching travel coffins.

"Why don't you go wait in the limo, got the AC cranked up."

"No thanks, I'm fine," Sookie replied with a giggle.

"Oh, go on, there's cokes in there." He gulped, licked his lips as his hands trembled where they held the sign, and for a second she considered that his nerves were attributed to meeting two vampire passengers face to face. But out of the corner of her eye she saw that Sookie had that intent look on her face again. The bald driver took sudden and drastic measures. He grabbed her by the arms, none too gently, and shouted something about just getting in the back.

"Get your hands off of me!" Sookie's voice bellowed.

And before Lily could react, before the driver could shove her in the back seat, Bill was there and had him by the throat, fangs extended. That was the first time that she had seen a vampires fangs that close. They looked sharper in person.

There was a rattling sound close by as Jessica's coffin was knocked from the loading cart in her struggle to get out, her aggravated pleas were muffled as the coffin rattled on the concrete floor. After being freed and Bill had lulled the driver into a calm state, they climbed into the back seat of the limo to further interrogate his impressionable mind. Sookie seemed spooked but not all that surprised, like that kind of thing happened to her frequently. Lily had questions, a lot of them, but it didn't seem to be the right time to ask them.

Bill was retaining eye contact with the man in that special way that vampires could and kept him in a tranquil state the same way a morphine drip might have. He began asking him his name to start, and the bald man answered in a very simple monotonous tone as if they had know one another forever. It unsettled Lily to realise so harshly how easily a vampire could get inside a persons mind, their darkest secrets exposed in an instant. Jessica leaned forward in her seat, enticed by the trick and Bill took to teaching her how to orchestrate it herself. "Everything's going to be fine," she whispered. It was becoming obvious that she had not been this way for very long. Bill spoke to her like a daughter, a young child that he was teaching the ways of the world.

"Sookie, he was sent to abduct you, perhaps you too, Lily. Which means somebody knew you were coming," Bill said as he sat next to them at the other end of the limo.

"Who do you think's behind it? Vampires?" Sookie proposed.

"Too sloppy," he shook his head, "Maybe that church?"

"Why would a church want to take us?" Lily asked.

Bill appeared surprised and turned to Sookie, half mumbling, "Does she…?"

"Oh, she knows about me, Bill. We got to chatting on the flight. And she's right. I mean, I know they're a little crazy but they're still a church."

"Church's have done much worse in the past." Yes. They had.

After extracting basic information from the driver, who they now knew was named Leon, they headed for the hotel where they could interrogate him further. There, Sookie and Bill had some last minute rearrangements to do with the girl behind the desk regarding room arrangements, which left Lily alone with Jessica who was enjoying testing out a new found control on Leon's brain. So far she had used it to get him into the hotel and steal his cell phone, which was briefly entertaining. But since meeting them they just seemed so...nice. The constant reassurance that everything would be alright was getting boring, fast.

"Actually, everything's not okay." The change of topic sparked Lily's interest, "All of your worst fears are about to come true."

"No," Leon whimpered, his bottom lip trembling.

"Unless, you scream at the top of your lungs…" she whispered something in his ear.

A moment later he screamed like his life depended on it: "Becky Eubanks is a stuck up whore who let Jace finger her in the church!"

Jessica threw her head back with loud, unsuppressed laughter, a contagious sound that sent Lily into fits of giggles that she tried to hide behind her hand. Bill scolded her but she didn't seem to care.

The hotel rooms were monumentally huge, everything was polished and opulent and crisp. The walls were grey, in the right light, silver. No windows. A menu of blood types sat on the table. Sookie and Bill had changed rooms and now occupied the one down the hall from Lily. Theirs was more like an apartment than a hotel room and Jessica had her own adjoining quarters. But the main focus of their attention was on Leon, poor Leon who believed his worst nightmares had yet to come into fruition.

"Jessica, what on earth did you do to this man?" Bill called. He had been attempting to undo whatever she had done for some time now, as Lily and Sookie sat on the sofa and looked on. There really wasn't much they could do but wait, wait to find out why he had wanted to take Sookie, if he only wanted her or if he would have gone back for the other girl.

"Maybe if you put your hand on his shoulder," Sookie suggested, "sometimes touching helps me hear...you know."

He did as advised, "Who sent you?"

"The Fellowship of the Sun."

"Are you a member?" Sookie asked.

"No, they hired me."

"Who specifically?" Bill was growing intrigued.

"I'm not sure, it was over the phone. Money was put in a locker for me to grab at the station."

"And they hired you to do what exactly?"

"Abduct the human with the Compton party, bring her to the church."

"Do you know my name?" The aversion thick in Sookie's voice.

"No ma'am, I didn't even know that you were going to be a woman, let alone that there'd be two of you. All I know is that the vampire's using a human to find the vampire Godric."  
"Do you know where he is?"

"No ma'am, I do not."

It would have made Lily's time here so much easier if he had known, to do what Eric was paying her to without really having to get involved. She could have gone home to where she was needed, sent Eric to retrieve his friend and never look back. But it seemed that luck wasn't on her side. And besides, now she was aware of just how messed up the Fellowship of the Sun had become, more of a cult with a twisted sense of morality preaching in the name of a church.

Something Bill had said in the limo earlier rang through her head, he said: "Church's have done much, much worse in the past." He was right. The church's stance on witchcraft had not been kind, or what they considered witchcraft, possession, exorcism. And since vampires had made themselves known to the public some individuals had taken it upon themselves to vilify them. What would happen to Godric if she left now, if she couldn't locate him?

Bill planted a story inside Leon's mind, one where their plane had arrived but the four of them had never been on it. Leon laughed, relieved, and Bill assured him that his bosses had no reason to be angry with him, there was nothing he could have done. And that was it. That was all it took for Leon to be on his way and out of their lives.

Lily went back to her room sensing that Sookie and Bill had other things in mind to keep themselves occupied. Alone, she checked her phone. No messages, no calls. She had been hoping to hear something from her family. But it didn't daunt her because she finally felt that she had a purpose, and tomorrow she would go about finding Godric.

* * *

**A/N:** You know who'll be appearing in the next chapter, right?


	5. Four - Something Personal

**Chapter Four : Something Personal**

.

There's something that Steph used to say, years ago when the girls she raised as daughters were young impressionable children. She said that the world had a balance to keep, and to preserve it we had to take the good with the bad. What she was getting at was that every decision, every conscious choice made no matter how big or small, carried a consequence.

You swat a wasp, you get stung. You leave film under a light too long, it burns. You abuse witchcraft, you face the council.

The council was a higher authority that dealt with minor matters of displaced magics, for the cause of keeping the craft as hidden as that they could, just one of their ways of keeping tabs on witches. But a thought befell her then, had Steph thought of what the consequences might be when she saved that child's life? Did they consider what she did obstructing the natural order of things? An abuse of her powers?

It sounded heartless, but the council had done a lot worse to witches who had done a lot less. They were incredibly strict when it came to staying hidden amongst the public. Presumably she intended to keep it a secret. And if she could do it then why not Lily, too. Vampires and witches did not have a kind history, and in taking Eric up on his offer she was making a conscious decision to go against her ancestors better judgement. It was more of an unwritten rule that they stayed out of one anothers way, but she contemplated it because if Steph could break rules and keep it a secret then so could she. Was it really so bad just to help a vampire? Especially now, when she knew how bad things had gotten within the Fellowship of the Sun. She went over it again and again in her mind like she was trying to convince herself that there was nothing wrong with being here.

She thought that there would be more to do here. She thought that it would be a rush of things to keep her busy, full of distractions and excitement and thrill-seeking, heart-pounding, life-distracting chores. But things were moving slow, painstakingly so, and Lily was growing restless.

Her mind was too clouded for sleep and there was nobody around to keep her company. Sookie and Bill were..._busy_. Jessica was preparing to rest through the daylight hours. And Eric...where was Eric? Why had he still not told her everything?

A hard knock came on the door before she could dwell on it. On the other side of the wooden panels stood a bellhop, smiling. He held out an envelope to her and said, "A Mr Northman left this for you at the front desk."

She took it and thanked him. The script on the envelope resembled that of the previous handwritten message from him. It was beginning to feel like a treasure hunt. The note spoke of a meeting in the downstairs bar in a matter of minutes. That was it. She even checked the back of the note but found nothing more.

When she thought of Eric she thought of the look on his face the last time she had seen him. He hadn't wanted to speak of Godric, or tell her anything more than he had to. She felt that way thinking of her family, protective and instinctual like she shouldn't mention them to the others and stay as anonymous and forgettable to them as she could.

Could she even get into that bar? Would they ask her to leave or would they even care? Well, as it turned out they didn't. And she didn't venture near the bar, either, but instead scanned the dim room for signs of him. He was sitting in a far corner, not alone. Upon approaching their table she saw that he was with Bill, and he wasn't particularly happy, even less when he saw her. He gave her a questioning look and turned back to Eric like he was about to inquire what she was doing her.

Eric spoke before he could do so. "Mr Compton, this discussion is over. Leave us." Bill gave her a strange look as he left.

"We have much to discuss," he said as she took a seat.

"I suppose we do."

"How are you enjoying Dallas?" Eric asked with unusual optimism.

"You mean besides dodging a kidnap attempt? Everything's fine. The others are nice, I guess."

"Yes, Mr Compton informed me of the incident at the airport. I see you escaped unscathed."

"Hmm," she nodded, "So the Fellowship of the Sun, they knew that you were sending people."

"It would appear so."

"Sookie and I had an interesting conversation on the plane. She's not exactly your biggest fan."

"No. I suppose she's not," he said with a hint of a smile. "But her skills are required."

"Then why am I here? If her _skills_ are all that special then why do you even need me?"

He sat forward in the leather chair. "For assurance. Your job while here is to remain my secret weapon. Sookie Stackhouse has talents but she cannot do what I need you to." His next words were carefully chosen and hushed. "Is everything set in motion?"

"About that," her mouth felt dry. "There's still some things that I need. One thing, actually. Something personal of his that I can focus on."

"Something personal…" He repeated.

"To complete it. I'll give it straight back."

He wore a look of consideration. It was hard to tell because she could see that since she had spoken he had stayed blank and steely. "I'll get you whatever you need." It sort of threw her to have him oblige, expecting to have to do much more convincing. "But if you're deliberating some sort of trick..."

"No trick." She tried to assure him, interrupting him in the process. He was making her nervous.

He slumped back in his seat and avoided her eyes. If anything, she thought he looked tired. But there was one more thing she needed to be sure of.

"You haven't told anyone anything about me? I mean, you're not going to, right?"

"I gave you my word." he replied firmly.

She almost laughed but ended up as a small twitch of a smile. "That doesn't really mean a lot to me. People break promises all the time."

"Whatever betrayals you have experienced during your adolescence is unimportant. Have no fear, you will soon return to your crystal ball in New Orleans without so much as a fan letter to attribute to your time here."

And that was exactly what scared her. Going back to the same life, the same dreary tasks where she hid behind a wry smile and fake friendships. But she smiled like she meant it and had refused his offer to buy her something from the bar. He told her that tomorrow after sundown he would get what she had asked of him.

She tried to sleep when she got back to her room, tossing and turning, and realised from the time shown on her phone screen that dawn was fast approaching. Still no messages from home. She opened her eyes and thought about how strange it was to be here, lying on a bed twice the size of her own where even the air felt stuffy and man made. The light was yellow and unnatural, and everything was much too silent for her to contemplate sleep. The desk clerk had said something about soundproof walls when she checked in. Soundproof, as in she could be horribly murdered and nobody would hear a thing. So she tried it. She sucked in a deep breath and screamed it out until lungs felt like they would pop. And nothing happened. She laughed under her breath, just to herself, at how ridiculous it felt.

There was nothing of interest on the television this early in the morning, and the mini bar, that Sookie had assured her was coming out of Eric's pocket, stocked nuts and booze and Tru Blood. What was there to do in a vampire hotel in the daytime anyway? She decided to find out.

It was barely daylight and the corridors were all but deserted. She saw one of the donors boarding an elevator, his eyes glazed over and absent. She decided to take the stairs. She was almost at the lobby when she saw a girl, stumbling, glossy eyed. Bite marks pierced her skin as often as the freckles on her face.

She pushed her jet black hair back from her face and for a moment their eyes met. Her cheeks looked hallow, her face somewhat sunken and taught. The girl was walking past when she lost her footing and Lily caught her by the arm. She could barely get her on her feet again, let alone leave her here in the halls. Urging the girl to lean on her, Lily helped her up and as she groaned a weak "thank you," brought her to the ladies room close by. She was out in a sweat and barely able to catch her breath.

Lily turned on the cold tap and ran tissue underneath it, then pressed it to the girl's face to try to cool her down. "Thank you," she breathed out again.

Her eyes fluttered and closed. Her balance was wobbly, uncertain, and so Lily strained to keep her upright. She was watching her reflection in the mirror and then began to notice her tattoos. Thin, black, delicate lines of ink coiled around her wrist and stopped inches higher, revealing itself to be a snake. There was another on her back, half hidden by her dress, between her shoulder blades. That one was bigger. Thicker flourishes of black ink, like feathers, wings, flame. It was a bird. A phoenix.

"What did you take?" Lily almost whispered.

The girl sunk deeper into the damp tissue and sighed, "Nothing."

Lily wasn't quite sure that she believed her. "Do you work here? Is there somewhere you can go, somewhere you can sleep?"

The girl was already shaking her head. "No. Not here. I pass by, sometimes." She understood in an instant. She had heard of girls doing desperate things to get by, soliciting with vampires, putting their lives at risk. It was a life that she wouldn't wish on anybody. They had been rough with her, drained her a little too much. And although she didn't know this girl she felt an irrepressible need to get her out of here. Maybe it was because she had been reminded of when she had taken care of her sister in the same way, like that time she had been so scared that she had overdosed and pressed a cold cloth to her cheek, trying to decide whether to take her to the hospital or let her sleep it off.

"You're green," the girl announced in a slur.

"What?"

Her eyes were open and hazy, she raised her hand to trace the point on the mirror where she saw Lily's reflection. "Such pretty green light. It glows on you like streaks, like an aurora between the stars." She traced her finger softly on the glass. She was on something, anyone would have thought so, but there was something about the look in her eyes that rendered the utmost sorrow. She spoke to the reflection, whispering, "They're going to destroy it."

Barely able to respond, Lily replied, "Who is?"

"The vampires." It came out as a murmur. "They're going to destroy everything. I felt it on your skin the minute I met you. They'll lie to you and use you and I know that you'll try to stop it, but you can't. It'll be too late. They're going to be the death of you."

The notion was inane, nonsensical, and as Lily gathered her thoughts she felt childish for letting herself believe she had something to fear. This girl, she was a stranger. An intoxicated, near anemic stranger. Her ramblings couldn't hold any credibility.

"I have to leave, I have to go," the girl pulled away, determined to walk but had to grip the sink's edge to retain her balance.

"Is there somebody I can call? Somebody to come and get you?"

"No, no." her black hair fell over her face like feathers and this time she didn't push it back. She cupped tap water and sipped from her hands. Slowly, she turned and looked Lily in the eyes, not her reflection. "You don't believe me," she spoke with credence, "but you will."

She stood straight and made for the door, stumbling only every so often. Lily offered to help her, again, feeling obligated. But she waved her off with a flick of her wrist insistent that she had to leave, and for a second, just a second, she caught a flicker of a mark on the flesh of her untattooed wrist. It was a scar from something seared onto her skin, branded with a symbol that would mark her permanently. She recognised the symbol. It was that of protection, life, healing, used by covens of particular witches.

The girl left quickly and Lily knew that there was no point in running after her, not now when she had already told her so much and was so evidently weak. She regretted not asking her name.

When she went back to the main foyer the girl was gone. And then she heard a familiar voice. She hadn't expected to run into her, but Sookie was there talking to some guy, a bellboy. He was short, dark haired, and irritated. Actually, their conversation was more of an argument, like they knew each other. Only snippets of their conversation was audible.

"I used to feel the exact same. Like I had a disability," she told him.

"More like a curse."

Sookie would say something to pester him and he would hiss something harsh back at her. They only stopped when some glamazon woman in heels and leopard print came to ask him if the hotel was hiring. She had two pinprick holes in her neck and it was apparent what position she was enquiring about. The bellboy skulked off, leaving Sookie with an dissatisfied look on her face.

She turned on her heels and froze when she saw Lily standing there. Composing herself, she walked up to her like she was going to ask what she was doing there. Lily beat her to it. "A friend of yours?" She nodded in his direction.

"No, what would make you think that?" she was feigning innocence.

"It's just the way you were talking, it seemed like...why are you looking at me like that?"

Sookie blinked, smiling unconvincingly. "No reason," her tone was light, "I was just asking about getting more towels sent up to my room." Sookie linked her arm through her elbow and lead her away like a lost child, and she didn't say anything because she wanted to like her and trust her. Sookie was the only person human enough around here to stand with her in sunlight and paranormal enough to have a secret to talk about. "But don't tell Bill about this," said Sookie.

"He doesn't like towels?"

Sookie giggled, "I don't think he'd like it. He doesn't want me to get hurt."

"Who would want to hurt you?" They stopped in front of the elevator.

"It's just that we're in a hotel full of vampires and if they knew...about me," she whispered the end of her sentence. Lily nodded, understanding where she was coming from but had so many more questions still on her mind.

"Sookie," she began, "what you told me on the plane, about why Eric wanted you to come here, well, what is it that you can do?" In Sookie's dark eyes she could see the apprehension, and it reminded her of how she felt meeting the tattooed girl. "I won't tell anybody," she added.

The elevator doors opened with a ding and Sookie stepped inside the empty shaft, Lily followed. Once they were alone Sookie spoke again. "I hear people's thoughts," she said it frankly and plainly, "I try not to but sometimes I just can't help it. Like last night when you were thinking about your sister, wondering if she was going to call, and just then in the lobby you were thinking about tattoos and burn marks."

Lily inhaled sharply, "So you hear thoughts, you're a mind reader." She had to say the words herself to wrap her head around it and tried to sound like she believed it. And when she decided, a smile broke across her face. "Cool."

Sookie flashed her a small smile, and said, "I haven't always thought so, but I guess if I can make a little money from it." Lily nodded. She knew the feeling. "Lily?" the brunette lifted her head. Sookie continued, "You never told me what it is you can do?"

"I…" she paused as she thought of how to phrase it, "I'm a researcher." Sookie looked perplexed. "A paranormal researcher. I have ways of finding people."

"Paranormal ways," Sookie muttered like she was taking it all in.

The elevator doors opened again on their floor and Sookie mentioned something about getting back to Bill who was waiting in their bed, which was gross enough so she left her to it. There wasn't much more exploring to be done and she was starting to feel kind of shaky so she opted for ordering room service and feasted on pancakes and fruit and honey and fell asleep watching trashy tv selling exercise equipment.

By the time she woke up it was already dusk. She got ready in a rush which was fine because she was always running late anyway, and found that she had time to tidy away the box of witchcraft that she had snuck into her suitcase from home and was currently lying around next to her makeup case.

Eric took them to a house—Godric's house—to meet Godric's "underlings" as he put it, Stan and Isabel. The house was sleek and modern and exactly the kind of place she imagined celebrities to live in, but at the same time it was incredibly empty. It was filled with furniture and sculptures and ornaments and pottery which all looked very expensive but still gave no hint at the person who might own them. Everything was grey and black and white, steel and glass.

She felt wary just to step on the rug in heels and instead stood by Bill and Sookie, who were engaging in what just about qualified as a conversation. They were too busy arguing to take note of Eric pacing frivolously back and forth, room to room. They never would have noticed if anything went missing.

Sookie got all dressed up. Red dress and ruby lips, hair swept to the side in soft blonde curls. She evidently wanted to make a good impression. Even now she stood with a hand on her hip and said something to defend herself when vampires hundreds of years her senior made some snide remark. Perhaps it was having Bill by her side that made her so fearless. Lily wore black crochet that if nothing else made her legs look longer and her tan deeper.

Stan was offended that Eric had hired humans and nobody had told him. He reminded Lily of the men back home in the city, all proud and conceited except he dressed like a cowboy and spoke with a thick southern drawl. Isabel seemed more polite, on the surface, but straining to keep hold of her temper with him.

"Are you certain Godric was abducted by the Fellowship of the Sun?" asked Eric.

"Yes—" "—No." Isabel and Stan spoke over one another.

Stan argued, "They're the only ones with the organisation and the manpower."

"But they're amateurs. It doesn't make any sense. This is Godric we're talking about. Two thousand years old."

Sookie mouthed the words to Bill. _Two thousand. _Various swear words passed Lily's mind in astonishment.

"Old don't make you smart." Stan remarked.

Isabel turned to Eric. "Besides, there's no proof."

Sookie spoke up. "If they've got him, I'll hear it. That's my job."

Stan and his cowboy hat turned sharply to Lily who was standing close by, "And what about you, little girl? You've been very quiet. What's your job? Drawing pictures on a chalkboard?"

She put on her best prestigious face. "I'm a researcher. I'm here to do research."

"Fucking great," muttered Stan.

There was more disagreements, much more, until Eric threw a vase at the wall and let it smash to pieces. "Godric has protected you, made you rich, and you stand here spitting and scratching like infants." He growled at them.

"Don't any of you care that there is a traitor in your midst?" Bill was trying to sound rational.

"No."

"Impossible."

Sookie took a small step forward. "Someone tried to kidnap us from the airport."

"You were the only ones that knew they were coming."

"Explain." Eric demanded.

"Unless it was you."

"Unless it was _you_."

"Look, if y'all argue any more I'm either gonna fall asleep or start screaming," Sookie began, "so this is what we're going to do. I'll infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun."

Bill snapped his head in her direction. "Absolutely not."

"Let her speak." Eric was intrigued.

"Since Bill glamoured the kidnapper, no one there knows who I am. I'll pretend I want to join the church, and check out all their thoughts."

"No. During the day, none of us can help you."

"It'll only take a little while. Really, Bill, it's simple. Besides, not if I don't go alone." And suddenly all attention was directed to Lily. It was all well and good for Sookie to volunteer and she could even understand not wanting to go there alone, but this had not been part of the deal, and there really wasn't any way that she could say no because she had asked in front of everybody and they were all looking at her expectantly and hopefully.

"I guess so," Lily shrugged, "Two is better than one. We can get in during the day and find out what we need." She tried to sound convincing.

"Waste of time. Or we could drink them all. I want no part of this." Stan stormed off and honestly it was kind of a relief.

Isabel spoke with her arms folded tight and sighed, "There's no easier way to find out if they're involved."

"If it leads us to Godric, we'll do it. The decision is made," Eric said firmly. Bill asked to speak with him, irritated perhaps because his girlfriend would be away from him for a few hours.

And by the time they eventually left after going over a rough semblance of a plan, he clung to the tiny blonde more than ever. Lily wandered from the couple during the walk back to the rooms and took the elevator to be alone and think for a minute. She hadn't thought she would have to infiltrate a cult while here. She was supposed to locate an old and ancient vampire and be on her way. Easy, and the money that Eric had promised would be hers.

There were more people than usual in the corridors. Actually, a lot of people, some rushed past in hysteria and as she rounded the corner she saw even more people, dressed in cheap suits holding notepads and pencils. Something horrible had happened. Her room was further from here but she could pick up parts of two men arguing by the door as she passed.

"But, Sir, the victim sustained a bullet wound to the head. You can't honestly believe that—"

He was cut off by his senior, "Yes I can. She was covered in bite marks. As far as reports go, it was all a tragic accident. The girl was a hooker or something, nobody's gonna miss a girl like that."

Someone started wheeling a black body bag out of the room and it felt like she was watching it happen on television, it didn't feel real. And as people in white body suits aimed to get away as quick as possible before any more guests fell witness, she saw something that made her blood run cold. An arm. Drooping from the body bag like a broken branch on a tree, the mark on her wrist exposed and the exact one as the symbol seared on the tattooed girl she encountered earlier.

It was her. She was dead. No, she had been murdered.

Her throat felt tight and her breathing felt constricted. But she walked past because, really, there was nothing she could do, not now, and Eric would probably stop by soon with the item she had asked for and she still had to perform the spell and hope that it worked before the Fellowship of the Sun tried anything more extreme. When she was inside her room she pressed her back up against the door and tried to remember how to breathe.

She stayed like that for a while until there was a knock on the door and Eric was on the other side of it, still wearing that blank, steely look on his face. He didn't say much when he stepped inside, even less as Lily got everything ready. She hadn't thought that he would stay while she conducted the spell but he seemed to want to do something useful and she didn't have the heart to ask him to leave, instead deciding that she could use his help.

The wooden box she had packed now lay splayed open on the floor. Crystals and twine, bottles and vials, herbs and oils, all lined to surround a map sheet of the area spread on the carpet, a single candle burning one side of it. Eric looked down at it and asked, "What do you need me to do?"

Something told her that he was not inclined to parroting that phrase very often, but by the hardened expression he wore she felt the urgency radiating from him like moonlight.

"Step inside the circle," she instructed. He did so without hesitation. "Did you bring it?"

Gingerly, he reached inside his pocket and presented the artifact she had asked of him. And there was no snideness to his response, no twitch of smiles, just a silent sincerity that spoke volumes. He held out an amulet on a string, a small, incredibly old pendant. She took it from him delicately and held it in the palm of her hand. He had that look in his eyes again. He was agitated and tense, like he had been back at the house.

"Can you hand me that?" she pointed to the bottle of amber liquid. As he did he came to sit on the ground, each of them now on either side of the map.

Lily had a yellow paged book on one side of her and a small silver dagger to the other. At least, she thought it was silver. She didn't really think that Eric would hurt her, not when she was of use to him at least, but she barely knew him and he was still a vampire. She wasn't going to leave weapons lying around for him to try. The book wasn't an instruction guide and the locating spell didn't call for an incantation, but the ink was faded on the pages and made required ingredients difficult to read, sketches of plants and other specifics looked faint. Sandalwood chunks were burning close by, acting as an incense and filling the room with damp, musky, earthy tones.

Pulling the cork from the bottle of oil—Myrrh oil with its bitter sweet scent—she poured a few drops onto the center of the map. She could feel Eric's eyes on her, watching carefully, irrefutably attentive. Having spent the majority of her life instructed to keep her distance from his kind, it felt like a betrayal to do this in his presence. Except it was a betrayal. She was going against everything she had been taught.

She took the dagger in one hand and brought it to a fingertip of the other. She pressed it deep and bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself whimpering until crimson pooled it. It dripped onto the oil and she pressed her bleeding finger onto the page. Coiling her fingers carefully around the amulet, she closed her eyes tight.

She spoke in a hushed voice, "Blow out the candle." The room grew darker but not completely.

It was silent for quite some time. Lily's focus was drawn on her breathing, hearing the rush of air grow louder, deeper, until the world disappeared. Eric said nothing and waited. And waited. And waited. He noticed that her breathing had quickened but not once had she looked up, her finger pressed to the map unmoving. As far as he could tell he couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary. He knew more than most that witches were not to be underestimated. But for a second felt irrefutable doubt in her ability. She was, after all, a child who specialised in parlor tricks. And then, to his relief, she proved him wrong.

The candle that he had snuffed out himself with cold, hollow breath, came surging back to life in a flash of pale light. She inhaled sharply and her finger trailed a line of blood and oil straight along the map. Jutting lines travelling the lengths of roads as if she were there, marking a route. Her trail slowed, and slowed, and still she didn't open her eyes. Until she stopped dead on an area on the outskirts of Dallas where he saw a church marking, a church that he expected was sustained by the Fellowship of the Sun.

She opened her eyes and blinked. "He's in the church."

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you so much new reviewers/followers/favourites. It means a lot. Please do remember to review. The criticism really does help me, and it would only take a minute. Next update will be soon!


	6. Five - At The End Of The Corridor

**Chapter Five : At The End Of The Corridor**

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They had dinner at the bar by daylight, which was more like breakfast because they had been up all night to coincide with vampires' schedule. It was midday and the Texas sun was at its peak temperature. By late afternoon they hoped to be within the walls of the Fellowship of the Sun, and Lily wasn't feeling quite so many butterflies in her stomach about it now. She was glad there was a third person set to join her and Sookie because three would be more difficult to pin down than two if anything were to go wrong.

The night before, after completing the spell, Eric had left with a sly grin even though when he turned she saw through the look on his face like he was made of stone. And although he hadn't said the words she knew she had confirmed what he already suspected, and it got her thinking about the Fellowship and what Isabel had said earlier, that Godric was "two thousand years old," and yet they had managed to capture him and trap him for so long and had failed at taking Sookie, only one human. It didn't make sense.

What she hadn't told him was what she felt when she held Godric's possession in her hand, when it felt hot and burning and she started to get a sharp sense of who he was. Vigilance, courage, pain. And she never mentioned the rush she had encountered the moment her spell had worked.

It had felt like floating and for a second she saw the world clearly as if for the first time, how everything was connected, how in tune she felt with _everything_. It was exhilarating and breathtaking and it made her feel bulletproof and powerful. She felt the earth beneath her feet and the cold wind on the back of her neck which of course she knew now sounded ridiculous because she was on the fourth floor and the air here was hot and sticky.

And when she had opened her eyes and saw the trail left behind by her bloody finger on paper, she physically saw things differently, heard sounds pass by her ears with a strange new ringing like wind whistling through treetops. Even looking at Eric as he left and mentioned something she could barely make out about having other appointments to keep, she saw the edges around him glow and flicker a dark colour, and after he had gone and she was all alone the outline of objects around her seemed to shiver and glower like fire. It had been a rush to feel so utterly and completely invincible, and it suddenly made sense to her why some people got addicted to that kind of power the way they did. The more you used, the more you craved it.

Although, that had been an unusual after effect. She was accustomed to using a miniscule touch of power for private readings in the back of the bar but had never experienced this kind of reaction before. She didn't feel like she could take over the world anymore but the fog over her senses didn't pass right away, either. She thought that perhaps it was because she really hadn't used her powers in this way before, to such a great extent.

Not long after Eric had come to her room, Isabel had arrived at Bill and Sookie's with a man, Hugo, whom she said was her human. They told Lily now about how the church may grow suspicious of two women arriving to join their congregation and told her about their little plan that they had worked out, where Hugo and Sookie would pretend to be a newly engaged couple looking for a church to wed in and that they would claim Lily was a sister of Hugo's and set to be maid of honour for the ceremony. He even slipped a diamond ring on his faux fiancé's finger over dinner.

"We'll go in together, I'll sort through their thoughts, find out what I can, and we'll make some excuse to leave."

"So you read minds," he pointed to Sookie and then to Lily, "then what do _you_ do?" he frowned, perplexed.

_Oh, you know, a witch,_ she thought. _A fully fledged, spell casting, bending the rules of physics, witch._

She swallowed the last of her soda, and answered, "Isabel didn't tell you?"

"No, she only told me that Sookie was coming."

"She's a researcher." Sookie told him, repeating the phrase she had been told the day before.

Hugo tilted his head thoughtfully and just left it at that, but then Sookie started looking at her with this funny little smile that didn't match the distraction in her eyes.

They were busy bonding over their relationships with vampires and discussing couple things when her mind couldn't help but drift to the tattooed girl, a suspected witch, she had met yesterday. She had been murdered; Lily had heard that cop say so. Shot in the head. What a miserable way to die. There hadn't been many figures of authority there, not that Lily had seen, anyway, and she thought for a minute that maybe it was because the Hotel Carmilla hadn't wanted to draw attention to it. Murder in a vampire hotel wouldn't be great for business.

"You're awful quiet? Everything alright?" Sookie dragged her out of her thoughts.

She had been quiet since she got here. Even on her worst day she could manage a smile and a funny story that made people laugh and forget all of the horrible things people might have heard about her, but here everything was different. She could feel herself shrinking away and becoming someone else, and maybe it was because she didn't know anybody here or that she was surrounded by all these vampires or under pressure to get the job done, but she felt different. Actually, she felt nicer.

"I'm fine." Lily pushed the food on her plate around with her fork. She had tried some of it but made more effort with her drink.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Sookie added.

"I'm too excited to eat." Her smile was flawless and her tone had been perfectly convincing, having had plenty of practise, but she didn't appear to completely believe her.

"You really should. Never know when you'll get it again."

_Like I need that from someone I barely know_, she thought. Then she remembered exactly who she was talking to. She was a mind reader. She probably knew all of her dark, painful secrets. Hugo, thankfully, changed the subject complete oblivious, and the two picked up their earlier conversation once again. He sort of freaked Sookie out, talking about his own fears of growing old while his girlfriend didn't. He had a point and it stuck with Lily even though it didn't really apply to her.

The trip there was long and seemed to pass civilisation miles back. Sookie smoothed out her pale hair and straightened a few buttons on her blue sundress as Hugo went over everything one more time. He said to let him do the talking, because he was a man and he thought it best. He didn't seem to mean it offensively but neither of the others liked it much.

They could tell they were nearing the place when they passed rows of buildings and camping grounds and the church poked up above the tree tops. Down a clopping driveway there was a woman dressed in pale yellow making hand gestures where to park, and Hugo said that she was Sarah Newlin, wife of Steve Newlin, the Fellowship's founder. "You know, in person she kind of looks like vanilla pudding," Sookie said. She was right.

"Hi there. I just happened to be looking out the window as you were driving up, and I thought I'd come on out and greet you myself. I'm Sarah Newlin. And you all are?"

"Hi. Holly Simpson. I cannot believe I'm meeting you in person. You are cute as a button."

"Thank you, Holly. And you're like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. And you are?"

"I'm..." he began but never finished.

"Silly me. This is Rufus Dobson, my fiancé, I love saying that word. In fact, sometimes I love it so much, I don't even want to get married, just so I can keep on calling him it. But we're going to. Get married, that is. Which is why we're looking for a church. And this is Lucy, Rufus's baby sister." Sookie placed her hands on Lily's shoulders, and clarified, "My soon to be sister in law."

"Maid of honour." Lily/Lucy said as she shook Sarah's hand.

"Well, excellent. And I'm pleased to meet you both."

"It's an honour," Hugo replied.

"The honour's mine. Now, how about you all follow me in and we'll see if Steve is available. I'm sure he'd love to meet you both."

Sarah waved them forward to follow her and as soon as her back was turned he leaned down to whisper to his 'fiancé', "I thought I would do the talking."

She explained, "When I get nervous, sometimes I talk too much."

Steve Newlin looked just as shiny as he did on TV. His teeth might have been whiter; that was about it. Sookie was telling him her fake troubles about her fake church and how the pastor there had been a sympathiser. The horror. Sarah and Steve had expressions like she had just told them the pastor had drowned four children in a bath tub. After their meeting when hands were shaken and fake smiles were thrown every which way, Steve offered to give the couple a tour of the church the wanted to tie the knot in.

"And don't you worry, Lucy. We haven't forgotten about you." Steve had this grin on his face like he was talking to a toddler. He continued, "I'm sure you'd much rather talk to some of our youth groups here. Talk to some kids your own age."

"Oh, no." Sookie began, "You see, I need my maid of honour. So I can picture what everything will look like on the big day."

"Yeah, and you can't say no to a bride," Lily said, trying to make a joke out of it.

"Nonsense!" Sarah laughed, "These tours can get really long and, you know, I really do believe that the youth of today needs God's light now more than ever."

Lily looked to Hugo and Sookie who were straining to keep their smiles. If they protested much more the Newlins were going to get suspicious. So she turned back to Sarah and repeated the phrase she had heard so much on those cheesy commercials.

"Praise his light." Lily feigned happiness.

Sarah beamed and said, "Well alrighty then. I know the perfect person to show you around, you'll love her." She turned to Steve, "Honey, can you send in Melissa?"

He nodded and pressed a button on an intercom. "Please send Melissa on in."

Melissa was a girl in her twenties, with dark hair pulled back in braids and rather noticeable scar running from her cheekbone to her jaw line. She came and guided her away and as they left she glanced over her shoulder and saw the apologetic look on Sookie's face, but they both knew there was nothing that could be done. If the Fellowship were planning to do something to hurt her, she would have to take care of it alone. But Melissa seemed to be perfectly normal. She asked questions about where she was from and why she had come here, about the upcoming fictitious wedding and dress colours and flowers. She didn't pull out any knives or guns or shove her down any steps.

They walked outside further and further away from the church and stopped at a small building that inside was filled with fold up chairs and people sitting in a circle. They all stared as she walked inside and realised that this was group discussion. Melissa pulled up a seat for her and told the group that she was new here, that she would soon be joining the congregation. Steve and Sarah must have told her that before she got here. The group turned their heads and cracked excitable, creepy smiles. It became apparent that Melissa was a kind of group leader for this little therapy session because she announced that she would start and then started a very tragic story about fighting for vampire's rights in her teenage years, dating a vampire who broke her heart and became physically and emotionally abusive towards her. She told the gory story of how she got her scar the night she tried to break up with her vampire boyfriend and how she eventually ended up with the Fellowship who, with the help of God, gave her hope for her future without such evil creatures.

A lot of the stories went on like that. Tales of abusive relationships, rape, murder, bites, and then there were those who were just terrified of the idea of bad things happening to them. It became very apparent that these people were incredibly vulnerable, incredibly scared, and she could see now how easily they could be manipulated when in that mentality.

"What about you, Lucy?" she spoke louder when she got no response, "Lucy?"

Lily realised that was her new name and snapped her head around at her wide eyed. "Sorry, what was the question?"

"I asked if you would share your story with us. After all, we've all shared ours with you."

"Oh! My story. Of course," she put on her best _good girl _face, took a deep breath, and began, "I guess I've just always known that vampires could never be trusted, what with all the sex and the murder and the drugs. I assume. Not that I've ever associated myself with those _things._ No, I go to church every Sunday. What Would Jesus Do, that's my motto."

Melissa just looked at her. "Hmm. It seems like you've had a great life. A clean life, and that's wonderful. But you don't have to put up a front for us. This is a safe place to talk honestly. Anything you say in the circle of trust stays in the circle." The rest of the group nodded and made sounds of agreement. "What about your parents? How was your childhood?"

This was growing personal all too quickly. It was starting to feel like she had just checked herself into rehab and had to confess her entire life story. Well, Lucy's life story. Not her own.

"I had a great childhood. Really, really...lovely."

"And your parents, where are they now? Remember, Lucy, this is a safe place."

She was pressing the issue like hot coals on her back and she wasn't going to give it up until she got something juicy. "My parents..." Lily looked to her hands resting on her lap, "Actually, my mom, she killed herself."

The silence was deafening. Melissa pressed one hand over her chest and another on Lily's shoulder, and said, "I'm so sorry. Please, continue. Take your time."

"She had problems. She had addictions. And I guess one day she just decided it would be easier to...leave." They were looking at her like they expected more, "My father left sometime after that. He didn't want to stick around to raise two abnormal kids."

"I'm sorry, abnormal?"

Lily checked herself. "You know how kids can get sometimes. We went through our weird phases and our superstar phases." That made a few in the circle laugh. She saw all smiles when she glanced around.

"So you have a sibling?" Melissa enquired.

"Just my brother Rufus, and now that he's planning on marrying Holly I guess I'll have a sister too. I'm so excited to finally have a real family, put the past behind me. I turn to God in my time of need now."

"Praise his light!" Someone shouted out.

"Praise his light," Lily responded assertively.

She seemed to have won over the crowd after that and hoped that after her little honesty session she could go back and join Sookie and Hugo. She asked Melissa if she knew where her brother and soon to be sister in law were but she just replied, "Don't worry. They're taking a tour of the church with Steve."

That was not at all comforting. They had been apart for hours; they couldn't still be touring one church, could they? And the sun must have set by now. "Are you staying for the lock-in?"

"The lock-in?"

Melissa said, "Yes. Tomorrow night. It's going to be so much fun, you should stay!" she spoke her next sentence in a hushed, giddy voice. "The next morning they're going to bring a real vampire out just before the sun comes up and we're all going to watch God smite that evil creation."

Now she really needed to find the others.

As time dragged on and Lily made more attempts to find out what was taking so long on the never ending tour, Melissa stuck to her like glue. It felt a lot like she was trying to keep her away from something, or someplace. She kept coming up with more and more ways to keep her busy, showing her where they ate and where they slept, and when it became so late that the others started to head for bed she said that they had a number of spare bunks that she could spend the night in and that she could borrow clothes from the other girls. If she was trying to convince her to stay the night without raising suspicion, she failed. But what was she supposed to do? Hot wire the car and make her own escape while Sookie and Hugo met some grisly end? She wasn't sure what the Fellowship was truly capable of anymore. They must have been keeping them somewhere, in the church probably, because they would have come and found her by now.

So reluctantly she stayed and the next morning was dragged off to yet another group discussion and more and more activities revolving around God equals good, vampires equals evil. It was as if they were trying to convert her or something, and maybe they were. Maybe this was why the Newlins had made such a fuss over her meeting the others. She could see how easy it was to get sucked into it all. There was always something to do here people barely had time to think for themselves.

It was late the next day when she finally got a second away from the others and as she kicked the dust under her boots she saw an SUV skid around a corner and Steve Newlin climbed out of it. She half hid behind a dying tree for all the good it would do, but it wasn't her he was preoccupied with, it was some guy with dirty blonde hair lugging around a packed bag who seemed to jump when he first saw him. There was another man with Steve, a bald, hulking man with skin like tanned leather and beady eyes. The hulking, muscle man jumped the blonde guy from behind, holding a gleaming blade at his throat. Steve smiled his shiny smile showing too many teeth and helped to pull him into the back seat of the car. They drove off together and Lily wondered if she should tell someone, doubting that anyone would be willing to believe the founder of a church had just kidnapped someone with a knife at their throat. He was already holding a vampire captive, and two humans, would any of them believe that?

There were crowds of people, parents and children and families with sleeping bags under their arms filing into the church. The lock-in was commencing. The others were somewhere inside that church, that was the last place anyone had seen them. Lily wondered if she could get away with sneaking inside. She was dressed in the clothes she had arrived in; high denim shorts, mint shirt. She would blend right in.

Inside there was a hum of excitement and children running around like they were on a playground. It was twisted, how families were banding together to watch someone die. Couldn't they see how messed up that was?

There was no sign of anyone she recognised out here, which had just been wishful thinking, and she couldn't see any doorways or spaces to hide people, not with such a thick crowd distorting her view. She waited and watched, and not long after the sky had turned dark and the lights inside the church had been turned on a group of people wearing Light of Day Institute sweatshirts and wooden stakes and silver chains in their hands.

This was it.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the bald hulking man from before, although now his knuckles were scraped and white and something about his expression sent a chill down her spine. He walked up to the front of the church and unlocked a door she hadn't noticed existed and disappeared down a set of stairs. Lily followed him.

The stairs were narrow and there was a twist of long corridors that followed. Her heart was beating like a hummingbird's at the idea of the unknown lurking down here, and she tried to remember the way back in case emergency escape was necessary. There was a scream the moment her feet reached the bottom step. Shouts. More screams. She ran towards them because her first thought was Sookie.

It lead her to a room near the end of the corridor and as she rounded the corner she heard a crack like broken pottery.

There was Sookie on the ground inside an open cage with tears running down her face.

The lifeless body of the hulking man slumping to the ground.

And a boy standing over it as his eyes skimmed over her.

She froze steps away from the doorway, sure that her expression most likely read unnerving panic. All she could think about was getting Sookie out of there, away from him. He had just killed one person, would it matter to him at all to add the distraught girl on the floor to his list?

"Godric?" Sookie asked unsure.

This was Godric? Not quite the old, bearded man she had imagined. He lifted his gaze to Lily standing near the doorway, watchful, and turned to back to the girl on the ground.

"You should not have come."

There was a crashing sound somewhere on the floor above, a number of muffled screams. And then came the alarm bells, the flashing warning lights. Sookie scrambled to her feet while she held her dress together, suddenly unafraid. "Bill!"

"No," said Godric, closing his eyes. "I am here my child."

Eric appeared in a blur. _My child._ And slowly he came to kneel before him respectfully, as if there were no one else nearby.

* * *

**A/N: **I had intended to get more into this chapter but now all of the boring stuff is out of the way! You made it! This sort of ended up as as a filler chapter and know that. But I had to get it out of the way. So from here on out, this is where the story really starts.


	7. Six - Tiger Eye Talisman

**Chapter Six : Tiger Eye Talisman**

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_This_ was Godric. This was the friend Eric had hired her to find. The old, all powerful vampire she had imagined to somewhat resemble Dumbledore. That image was a far cry from the sharp angled, smooth skinned, blue eyed figure she saw now. Time felt fractured and everything that had seemed so urgent seconds ago now felt obsolete and neither vampire cared to acknowledge their human audience. "Godric," Eric said, bowing his head and kneeling before him like royalty. Prince and King. Except, if you were going looks wise, it looked like it should have been the other way around.

She hadn't known Eric long, barely at all. She didn't know how old he was or how he had become Sheriff of Louisiana but he seemed older than Bill, stronger, more cultured, controlled and accustomed to getting his own way. The night he met her he had stayed confident and icy like he knew her weaknesses and how badly she needed the money and he seemed to just _be_ like that. Like he saw a vulnerability in someone and played it and played it until he bent it into getting what he wanted. And through the veil of that disposition she could also see how very capable he was of caring about someone other than himself. But none of those qualities matched up with the man he was now, on one knee before someone he referred to as "a friend."

She hadn't imagined he had this side to him and apparently neither had Sookie, who had previous knowledge of his vices. Observing the scene from within a wire cage with the same curious bewilderment as Lily matched. An odd softness etched upon his features, an adorning, a sense of respect reserved for people you owed your entire life to.

"You are a fool for sending humans after me," Godric said. Not entirely humans, but who was he to know that.

"I had no other choice. These savages, they seek to destroy you." He looked up at him like all of his values, all of his worth laid there.

"I'm aware of what they had planned." He glanced down at Hugo lying unconscious at his feet. "This one betrayed you."

"He's with the Fellowship. They set a trap for us," Sookie clarified. It was the first time she had spoken and all eyes darted towards her. She kept her arms crossed vigorously and it became apparent that Godric had not been the one to cause her such distress. It was something Hugo had caused, most likely what the dead bald guy had attempted to do. Lily could feel her guilt rising and tried to reason with herself that it hadn't looked good; it had been only natural to come to such a conclusion. But perhaps she wasn't as adjusted to vampire company as she had thought.

"How long has it been since you fed?" Eric spoke with concern.

"I require very little blood anymore. Save the humans. Go on. "

"I am not leaving your side until you—"

"I can take care of myself." Godric insisted.

"Sookie..." Lily reached out her hand to guide her from the wire prison, and Eric reluctantly came to their side. The first and only time she had seen Eric hesitate was when Godric spoke again.

"Spill no blood on your way out," he said.

At the top of the stairs, searching for a way out, they came to find a group of the Fellowship's sources rallying together, men wielding weapons of wooden stakes guarding the main doors of the church. They were sort of scrawny, ill prepared, but in a group with those weapons they stood a fair enough chance. Eric remarked that he could have them out in seconds, and when the telepath worried about hurting human families he promptly told her that they wouldn't think twice about doing the same to them, which was true. Those people had kept her trapped for hours upon hours, done God knows what to her.

"Why didn't you bring Bill with you?" There was a sense of hurt in her voice, not that it seemed to affect him much.

He replied, "His attachment to you is irrational. It clouds his judgment. He would kill every child in this church to save you."

"Why aren't you?"

"I'm following Godric's orders and getting you out. That's all."

She paused on a breath for a moment and Lily could only watch. There was something between them, she could tell from the sparks flying all around them. "He's your maker, isn't he?" Sookie said on a whim, looking up at him with certainty.

"Don't use words you don't understand."

"You have a lot of love for him," she shot back.

"Don't use words I don't understand."

He was beginning to walk out there when she tugged on his arm. "Eric, no!"

He leaned down irrefutably close to Sookie, like he might plant a kiss against her cheek, and whispered, "Trust me."

Eric slouched his head down like he had grown up shy and lanky and awkward, and in his best human impersonation started chatting to those men who had every intention of killing a vampire if they were given the opportunity. They poked holes in his story and he coped well until one of the shorter, stouter ones crept up behind him drawing a wooden stake behind him and Sookie shouted out, "Stake!" from her hiding crevice by the doorway. Eric tackled them and fought them off until his recruitment ran out from their hiding place. Sookie ran to him and exclaimed, "Eric! You don't have to kill him." And so he didn't. Her opinion mattered to him more than he cared to admit.

Lily stood further back to observe, wondering if they were just going to leave via the front door because that seemed far too easy and something was bound to go wrong. But unbeknownst to her there was one more soldier that she hadn't seen lurking in the distance that took her by surprise and got a good grip on her hair from behind. He dragged her for a few paces before she managed to claw him away, and when he raised his fist to strike her because he had made the assumption that he could overpower her because she was younger, weaker, a girl, a fangbanger. Whatever he thought it did him no good. She pressed her hand to his sticky with sweat forehead and dragged her fingertips down his skin just long enough so that she felt his consciousness slip through her fingers. She pulled away when his eyes rolled to their whites and he slumped over to the ground.

There was that rush again. The after effects didn't hit her quite so hard and passed much more quickly this time. Sookie stood watching with her mouth hung open and an expression that registered first as fearful apprehension. But she had worn that since finding her down in the basement. Lily smoothed out her hair and flung rich brown strands back behind her shoulders. "He messed up my hair," she justified.

Eric opened the door enough to peek through where he saw an angry mob of soldiers were fast approaching carrying bows and arrows and chains. One of the men lying injured by the door took note of his reaction and said, "Those arrows are wood. You'll never make it through." Sookie suggested they go through the sanctuary. She had, after all, been given a complete tour of the building.

The whole place was deserted with sweatshirts and sleeping bags and stuffed animals left scattered on pews. The place must have been evacuated promptly after the alarms had been set off. As they strode up the aisle Sookie turned to her and asked, "What happened back there?"

"He fainted. Not my problem."

It just seemed like—" Lily spun on her heels and stared. Her movement must have been too sudden or her expression too strong because tiny Sookie paused for a minute and looked taken aback. "Like you did something to him," she concluded.

"And how would I do that?"

"About the same way as I hear people's thoughts."

That's right. She could pick things out of a person's mind like playing an arcade claw machine to win a prize. She had done it to the bald man at the airport. To her. To whomever she had come across in the church. And if she really wanted to she could reach out and take the answers she sought and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Shit. Don't think about it. Don't think about anything. Not Steph or Gwen or your mother or the council or the guy at the club with his beady bloody eye. You are not a witch. Not a witch. Not a witch. Not a witch.

If she wasn't already telepathically drawing out mental images of chalk drawn symbols and smoke and blood dripping on maps, then judging by the look on her face she had already figured her out, heard the words running through her thoughts. She did the only thing she could think of. She pleaded, thinking, _"Don't tell. Please."_

"Where's the exit?" Eric broke through her thoughts.

Sookie gestured ahead to the left. "Back that way."

"There are several exits, actually." Steve Newlin appeared around the alter dressed head to toe in stark white. "For you, the easiest one takes you straight to hell." Fellowship soldiers began filling the sanctuary, dozens upon dozens of them. Too many, and the majority carried weapons.

Sookie tried to convince them. "Let us leave! Save yourselves! No one has to die!"

"The war has begun, you evil whore of Satan. You vampires cast the first stone by killing my family. The lines have been drawn. You're either with us or against us. We are prepared for Armageddon. And you," he looked Lily in the eye with dissatisfaction. "Such potential. I was so hoping we could turn you around, help you see the light. Really, there's no reason a child should associate herself with devils. I heard about your little sob story at group. Dead mother and a deadbeat father. Let me guess, it's about as true as the name you gave us. The devils got you brainwashed, little girl. But it's not too late to right your wrongs. You can have a second chance. You can join us."

She could feel a roomful of eyes burning her from afar. "I'll take my chances."

Sookie shot back. "The vampire you're holding prisoner got away. He's a sheriff. He's bound to send for help." Eric had failed to mention that, too.

Steve looked like he could have laughed. "I'm not concerned with Godric. Any vampire will do for our grand celebration, and we got one right here."

Sookie slowly turned her attention to Eric, looking up at him with sad eyes, distressed, as he bore that steely expression and spoke in an incredibly low tone, "I will be fine." He said it just for her, just to ease her mind before stepping forward to cooperate.

He lay on an altar willingly and allowed them to chain him down with silver that sizzled against his skin, and the others just watched, some with slight unease but some with sickening excitement. The soldiers held their arms behind their backs restrictively and made them watch. Eric's tone was strained when he spoke. "I... I offer myself in exchange for Godric's freedom... and the girls' as well."

"That's noble," Steve began, "but they're just as culpable as you are. They're traitors to their race—the human race! They hardly deserve mercy. Maybe we should tie them to you so you can meet the sun together. This marshmallow would roast up nicely."

Sookie looked over at her in desperation. "Isn't there something you can do?" she half mumbled. She knew what she was talking about, what she had figured out from poking around her thoughts. But there were too many of them for her to take on the way she wanted her to.

"Not right now," Lily answered. She had a talisman with a tiger eye gemstone burning in her pocket but aside from jamming it down Steve's throat; she really didn't have much use for it.

At that moment the doors to the sanctuary swung open as Bill burst through them, calling out for Sookie. When she spotted him the sense of relief in her expression was evident. Steve, in all of his crusade to cleanse the world, took a gun in his grasp and pointed in to Sookie's temple. "One more step, vampire, and the girl dies."

"If you shoot her, everyone here will die. Let her go now." Bill spoke with restrained rage.

Steve ordered his soldiers to chain him down as they had Eric, but before they could someone called out his name and threw something that knocked the gun out of his hand. He clutched his hand that now bore a bright green paint splat and there was a man, the one Lily had seen dragged away in the daylight hours, holding up a paintball gun aimed directly for Steve's head. Some others rushed to get him down from his vantage point but before they could reach him he shouted, "Let her go, fuckwad!" and shot another green splat of paint precisely on his forehead, leaving him moaning in pain and unable to do anything about it.

Lily suppressed inappropriate and untimely laughter, longing for someone to say that since she got here, and Bill used the soldier's momentary distraction to knock first Sookie, then the witch from the soldier's restraints. He held Sookie tight in his arms but much to his dismay she broke away long enough to run to the alter where Eric was still lying burning in chains. Eric was right about what he had said before, Bill thought of no one else in matters that pertained to his girlfriend. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, to be loved that much, but it was that kind of suffocating love that made Lily wonder why she stayed with him.

As soon as she freed Eric, he shot up with a grimace and bore his fangs at the man who had captured Godric. He had Steve by the throat in an instant and through him back against the stone steps hard. Sookie urged him not to harm him and, shockingly, he listened.

"Go ahead. Martyr us. Martyr us before God! We are willing to die." There was a soft whimper from the crowd of followers bellow. They hadn't asked for this. Maybe the Newlins should have put "Family Activities and Possible Genocide" on the brochure. And while Eric looked tempted, he held himself in control and did nothing more than hiss at him.

The sanctuary doors swung open again but this time it was not a single vampire that stood on the other side, it was many and they filed into the building in their magnitude covering every exit, every corner. The one that seemed to lead the others was familiar, still donning his cowboy hat and all appropriate western attire. "Steve Newlin!" Stan called out in an echo. "You have pushed us too far. You expect us to sit on our thumbs while you round up your men to come lynch us? We'll kill you first." He smiled faintly. "Same way we did your father."

Sookie muttered in horror, "Oh God, no."

"Murderer!" Steve twisted and turned under Eric's tight grasp. This was not going to end well.

Stan instructed the others. "Destroy them. All of them!" And then they swarmed the place, vampires gripping the necks of families and frightened humans. This was his own plan that Isabel had once referred to as nothing more than a movie. Lily stood one side of the tall, blond vampire in the hopes that he might keep his word that nothing would happen to her on this little trip, because it was apparent that if Bill had to choose he was always going to come to his lover's aid before anyone else's. Sookie shouted out for Bill and Eric's to do something as the place descended upon chaos. But there was nothing they could do, nothing anybody could do.

"Enough!" A voice bellowed from high above. He was there, standing on the balcony. Godric. Everyone stopped at once. "You came for me, I assume. Underling?"

Stan barely looked up from a human's neck. "Yes, Sheriff."

"These people have not harmed me. You see, we can co-exist. Mr. Newlin, I do not wish to create bloodshed when none is called for. Help me set an example. If we leave you in peace, will you do the same?"

"I will not negotiate with sub-humans." Steve barked out, now free of the hand around his neck but still on the cold stone steps. He kneeled before Eric and said, "Kill me. Do it. Jesus will protect me." He closed his eyes and braced himself.

"I am actually older than your Jesus. I wish I could have known him, but I missed it." It took him half a heartbeat to be by their side and have Steve Newlin restrained by the scruff of his collar. "Good people, who of you is willing to die for this man's madness?" There was nothing but silence. "That's what I thought. Stand down, everyone. People, go home. It's over now."

People who had narrowly just avoided a massacre left then and there and Sookie buried her face in Bill's chest as he told her everything was going to be alright now. Godric released Steve and he slumped forward on his knees. "I dare say my faith in humankind is stronger than yours. Come." The last part was directed at the vampires that had come to his unnecessary rescue. He slowly and calmly descended the alter and Stan came forward to speak with him.

"Sir, after what these humans have done to you..."

He looked up at him sharply. "I said come."

Eric, unprepared to leave just yet, came to stand before Sookie who was still entwined in her boyfriend's arms. "Are you sure you're okay?" As Lily watched she saw their eyes meet and thought that he might have been referring to what almost happened to her down in the basement, not wanting to let Bill know.

Bill answered for her. "She's fine. Go with your maker." And Lily wondered if Bill had seen the sparks between them too.

After that, after everyone had left Steve Newlin alone on the floor of the church with only is lunacy to keep him company; they were to gather back at Godric's house. A kind of celebration supposedly, on behalf of his safe return. It seemed more like something that everyone else wanted rather than what he wanted, or what they wanted to do for him. Nevertheless, he went along with it. He was proving to be quite cordial, benevolent.

Lily had gone back to her hotel room to change out of the clothes she had worn for the past two days when, really, she wanted the chance to check her phone in private. At first she had been on pins and needles, nervously awaiting a response from home, but now found that she had grown accustomed to the lack of communication that it actually came as a surprise to see three new messages. 1 missed call, 3 texts with offensive cheerleader jokes, all from Gwen rambling nonsensically about birds and stars and a leather jacket she found in her closet. Lily bordered on a laugh, thankfully not seeing any cause for alarm.

She left in a loose fitted white chiffon shirt and black leather shorts, an overly amount of long jewellery borrowed from her sister and the lace up boots that sort of ruined the Nice Girl look and turned it a little grunge. However, it didn't quite mesh with the room full of red soled Louis Vuitton's and Alexander McQueen dresses. Apparently Jessica had been sent home which turned out to be sort of a disappointment because she seemed like she could have made good company and she would have been one more person Lily would have known.

But she didn't turn heads as she passed by. Nobody whispered behind their hand, nobody really looked up at her or spoke to her at first. She was nobody here. And she didn't entirely mind. Everyone was someone beautiful here, someone interesting, someone older with better stories and more intellect than she could dream of. She could feel the thump of her own pulse in her throat, and suddenly it felt like an echo in a room full of so many left unbeating. With the talisman she had brought from home still in the safety of her pocket, she thought that now would be a great time to test out the protection properties her sister raved about tiger eye crystals having.

Catching sight of Sookie brought her some comfort. She had been given a snow white coat to wear from some new vampire friend and as she thanked her and smiled and mingled with this room full of non-human strangers, Lily noted how easily it came for her, how adjusted she seemed to this life. It didn't seem to faze her. She had caught her arguing with her Bill earlier, as had Eric, and was now completely and utterly convinced that he had set them up to be kidnapped, not caring what would happen to them.

When Bill left her side to talk with Eric, Lily gestured for her to walk with her to one of the patio doors. The outside of the house was just as articulately designed as the interior. She bit the inside of her cheek. "What are you going to tell them?"

"Nothing. Yet."

"Good, that's good." She said more for her own comfort.

Sookie tilted her head and asked, "I don't understand what the big deal is. Bill and Eric already know about me and that turned out okay."

"That's different. Eric hired me, but if everyone else knew, well, nothing good will come of it. Jesus, Sookie, I'm not even supposed to be here. I lied to everyone just to get away."

"But you haven't done anything wrong."

Lily tried to explain. "They won't see it that way. All they'll care about is how I sold them out and lied to them just because a vampire asked me to. You have no idea what they'll do if they find out."

"Who's they? If someone's threatening you, you should go to the police. I'll go with you—"

Lily cut her off. "That won't do any good, they're above the police. Actually, some of them might even _be_ police."

In her ice white coat, she crossed her arms. "What about your parents? Can't they do anything?"

"My parents?" the witch laughed. "No. Even if I had any they wouldn't be able to help. There are rules, Sookie, and I broke them. So, please, don't say anything."

Sookie seemed to think about it, looking down to the ground and then looking up with this apologetic look in her eyes. "What Steve said in the church about the story you told them, it's true isn't it?"

Her silence and reluctance to meet her gaze said all she needed to know. "It doesn't matter." She let it go after that and Lily could tell by her expression that she had more questions, maybe about cauldrons and brooms and pointy hats, but this wasn't the right place to answer her. "I can't talk about this here," she told her. Sookie nodded and agreed to keep quiet. For now.

They headed inside and after some time had passed and the crowd had mingled in a grown up, sophisticated way that people did at debonair parties and stood together sipping cocktails and discussed current events with soft contemporary playing in the background. This was not her world. Not even close. But it seemed like something she could get used to.

Feeling her phone buzz in her pocket she chose to ignore it. Stan and his cowboy hat were judging her from afar, casting looks down on her probably wondering why some kid like her was here in the first place, what she had to offer? He didn't seem like the type to give up easily. Again, her phone buzzed and this time she gave in and skimmed through four more messages from her sister, this time asking when she was coming home, where they kept the silver in the house. It was mildly alarming but for now she seemed okay.

She thought about seeking out Eric to enquire about her payment. She needed that money as soon as he could get it to her. But as she scanned the room in search of him, her eyes found Godric instead.

People queued up just to shake his hand, just for the chance to speak to him, be near him. He was the kind of person that caught attention and made everyone stop and listen. Charismatic, electric. People scrambled for his approval. Now he just sat in a fancy chair in his fancy house and offered a small smile to the ones who said their thanks and courtly told him how glad they were that he had returned home safe and sound. And he nodded cordially, of course, and even though he looked like he believed them he seemed so tired of hearing it.

Looking around at everyone now and how happy they seemed, how easy it came to them, she caught him watching at her. Godric. And he looked drained, bored, empty. She supposed that this life, regal and dazzling as it seemed to her, became incredibly tiresome after two thousand years.

People had been pleading for his attention all night long and it was a strain for him to sit there and take it and in a strange way, she understood exactly what he felt. The smothering, suffocating way that people wrap themselves around you just so they can nod their heads and agree with whatever it is that you're talking about, but they're so busy agreeing that they don't hear a word. Sometimes you can be so surrounded by people and feel so very alone.

He didn't look away, not at first, but he did when Eric crouched by his side and he turned away to speak with him privately. She started thinking about him and what his life had been before all of this. Assuming there was something before all of this because she felt there really ought to have been a time before he was rich and powerful, before he was this person that someone would send telepaths and witches after just to find. More and more, she found herself wanting to know who he was.

At some point later on when the night seemed to be winding down, Isabel had come rushing through a room in the back dragging Hugo along by his shirt. She threw him down at Godric's feet with faint blood stains under her eyes like she had been crying and tried to rub the evidence away in a hurry. Hugo looked consumed with guilt, bruised and beaten but more than anything sort of heartbroken.

Isabel announced to everyone that he had been the one to betray them and permitted her sheriff to do with him as he pleased. The entire room had turned still and breathless as everyone watched in anticipation of his verdict. And his starting point was to ask if Isabel loved him, and upon witnessing her reaction, allowed him to leave freely. The reaction from most was admiring smiles at respectful glances. They were in awe of him. Most of them were. Stan had some objections but still remained obedient of his Sheriff's ruling.

There was another buzzing in her pocket and she couldn't ignore it anymore. Four more texts, all her sister's ramblings. Lily could feel the panic creep inside her chest as she scanned through the messages. They were no longer mindless jives to pass the time, they were desperate and pleading and more than anything they were astoundingly lonely. _To the moon and back...The End...Goodbye. _And all too quickly she knew she had to go home. She had to get to her.

Upon that realisation a wave of guilt washed over her because she had actually felt angry with her sister tearing her away from this place. Although she knew that this was a world she would never fit into, she had dared to dream and longed to stay just a little longer. Was that so bad? To want another life? She had barely spoken to the man she had helped locate and now it seemed she wouldn't get the chance to. In one day in Dallas her life had been more exciting than years of her usual life.

She told Sookie that she was leaving, and Bill who really didn't seem to care. The blonde had hugged her abruptly and told her how nice it was to have met her, even though what she really meant to say was that it was nice to meet someone like her, someone abnormal. She had said that she hoped it wouldn't be for the last time and that anytime she was passing through Bon Temp, Lily should give her a call. That town sounded familiar, bringing back memories of conversations with her sisters and the company she kept. It was an odd coincidence.

Eric had been standing close and as she explained to a fretting telepath that she was planning on taking the bus back to New Orleans, because the others were flying back home tomorrow and the thought of climbing aboard a plane gave her shivers, Lily had turned to Eric and said, "I assume I can afford to do that?" He nodded solemnly. So that was it, job done.

This was why she had come here, she just couldn't figure out why it felt so bitter to leave. She dared to glimpse back at Godric again before she left and smiled faintly at him as if he might have known what she had done for him, for Eric, and the odd knowing feeling she had gotten when in possession of the belonging Eric had brought her.

She caught herself thinking about him at the bus station after hours of waiting for the right bus. Stupid curiosity. Even if she had had the opportunity to speak to him, what would he care? He was older, smarter, and was probably accustomed to better things in life. What could she say to him that would hold any value?

Something occurred to her just then. The weight she had gotten used to these past days felt absent. She fumbled through her pockets, even her bags, and realised the talisman her sister had given her was missing. She couldn't go home without it, not only because it held sentimental value and because it wasn't hers to lose but also because it was a witchcraft artefact. She must have left it in the vampire house, dropped it when searching for her phone or talking to someone. Great. Now she would have to go back.

When she did make it back there was a very different energy around. She hadn't been gone that long, maybe two or three hours before realising she had lost the talisman. But the house was different. Nobody seemed to be around. There were no lights on inside. And as she climbed the steps to reach the front door she realised that the panes of long glass windows had been shattered.

Something had happened here after she left; something big. She was able to simply push the front door open and as she stepped inside and there he was; standing alone dressed all in white linen. He looked surprised to find her there.

"Sorry. I wasn't sure anyone would be here." She stepped closer inside, slowly noticing the subtle changes since the last time she had been here. Things were different, all too clean and new and considerably bare since she had seen it last. "You probably don't remember me. I'm Lily. From the church."

"I remember," Godric said. Of course he remembered.

She looked around again and asked with speculation, "What happened here?"

He paused for a moment before he replied. "It would seem you missed the commotion. A soldier of the Fellowship arrived here with a detonation device strapped to his chest. The many pieces of silver accounted to several human and vampire deaths."

Lily tried not to stare, her fingers covering her lips. "I'm so sorry."

He looked down gently and spoke kindly. "I'm glad you left unharmed." Her lips curled at the edges but he was still looking away. "Was there something you wanted?" he asked after a moment.

"I think I dropped something the last time I was here. I don't know if you've seen it or if it's even still here. It's just a trinket, it's not worth much but I borrowed it from someone and I really need to get it back."

"What does it look like?"

"Like a coin with an orange stone stuck in the middle."

He got this look on his face and searched for something in his pocket. In his hand he held the trinket and held it out for her to take. He must have saved it from the burning wreck of his home. She took it from him with her fingertips grazing the edge of his cold skin.

Thanking him and about to leave, she spun on her heels. "I know you must have heard it a thousand times by now but I'm really glad you got out of that place."

He looked up with a softness to his expression. "You are very kind, to do what you did."

Those words seemed like a joke to her. People were not in favour of telling her that back in the city. And she knew they were right not to. "You're about the only one who thinks so."

"Don't worry what people think, they don't do it very often." His eyes looked like crystal as he glanced around the empty space that hours ago had been his home, he looked like it would be the last time he would ever see it.

She asked hastily, "Are you leaving?"

"There's nothing left for me here."

She nodded slowly. "Well maybe you'll find something. People seem to really like you here. They listen to you." She took a heavy breath and braved to explain what was on her mind. "I know I really don't know you and you have no reason to even listen to me, but I get it. They look up to you, they expect you to be able to fix everything and soon it starts to feel like you're not really living in the world, you're just existing." There was something attentive about his expression then. "You're feeling burnt out and discouraged, but you've made it this far and I think that's really brave."

He smiled faintly with a brightness to his eyes. "Thank you, Lily."

She smiled back and felt as though somehow she had made a difference. As she left felt his eyes watching her walk out of the door.

* * *

**A/N:** Long chapter, I know. I was going to shorten some dialogue but...but the Eric/Sookie-ness of that episode! I couldn't do it.


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